Journey's in life
by beckah85
Summary: AU – Sian never split with Ryan. Sophie is 18, first year. Sian is 19, 2nd year. They are at Nottingham Trent cos I know the city really well. And it's a great city!
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing, but I love Corrie! Just a little something I've been thinking of for a while and I decided that I would finally do something about it. Hope you like it. Please review if you do. Actually review if you don't like it too please cos then I might be able to do something about it. First chapter is a bit slow, just wanted to set the scene a bit first.**

Sian woke with a start. Opening her clear blue eyes she heard her phone buzz, 'Blasted phone waking me up in the middle of a really good dream' she grumbled to herself as she reached down to the floor to search for it. When it had been located she flipped it open and answered without looking at the screen, 'Who are you and what do you think you're doing ringing me at this time of the morning?'

'Morning? It's half 12 and I'm picking you up in an hour!' As Sophie's voice came sharply down her ear Sian smiled and sat up. No matter what she said or how she said it Sophie never failed to make Sian smile. They were best friends after all. 'Don't worry, I'm ready to go. I'm organised unlike some people I could mention!' She teased hoping that it would mean that she wouldn't get in any more trouble for sleeping in too late. It worked, 'Er, hang on a minute there lady, I hope you're not talking about me?' Sophie was indignant and Sian could just imagine her standing with one hand on her hip with a familiar pout on her face, 'I don't know, are you packed?' she paused waiting for an answer. It came in the form of silence on the line, 'I'd best leave you to get on with it then hadn't I? See you in an hour' She grinned as Sophie muttered, 'Yeah see you soon' and hung up.

Despite what Sian had just teased Sophie about she hadn't actually started packing yet. Well apart from the obvious basics she had put to one side last week anyway. Jumping out of bed excitement ran through Sian's whole body as she finally started packing and getting dressed at the same time. The day that both girls had been waiting for for a year had finally arrived and she couldn't believe that she had managed to forget until her best friend had rung her.

* * *

After hanging up the phone Sophie decided she needed help if she was to stand any kind of a chance of leaving in time and not proving her best friend right, 'Mum!' Sophie shouted down the stairs, then, when she got no reply she tried again, louder this time, 'Mum!'.

'Don't shout love, I was only in the kitchen. What's wrong?' Sally came running up the stairs. ' I can't find anything and I need to be at Sian's in an hour' she replied indicating her suitcase which was lying open on her bed and contained a grand total of 2 pairs of high heeled shoes and a hairbrush. 'Well if you would only tidy this tip of a room up once in a while you'd know where everything was wouldn't you?' Sally grimaced, her eyes showing disappointment in her youngest daughter. 'Oh don't Mum' Sophie rolled her eyes, 'Not now please?'

'OK fine' Sally smiled, holding her hands in the air, too proud of her child to actually be angry at her, 'Don't worry, I know you very well and I've already packed most of what you'll need. It's all downstairs waiting to go in the car. All you need to put in this suitcase is clothes and memento's you might want to take to remember us by'

Sophie grinned and hugged her mother, 'Thank you thank you thank you!' she squealed before running over to her wardrobe and grabbing everything she could reach and stuffing it in the case in any way she could. Sally sighed and took everything out again and began folding the clothes properly, ducking as various other items came flying across the room in the vaguest of directions towards the open case. 'I think I'd best go and get my case too hadn't I?' Sally grinned and left the room. Thinking of the size of the mountain of 'stuff' that had appeared in just a few minutes she decided that she maybe ought to ask Rosie if they could borrow hers as well!

Just over an hour later after enlisting the help of Jason, her Dad and their next door neighbour Gary to load her car up Sophie was ready to go. 'Take care of yourself love' Sally was crying as she hugged her daughter tightly, 'and tell Sian to take care of you too. I don't know why you won't let me come and help you move in'

'Because Sian said no parents helped anyone move in last year and I don't want to be a geek on my first day!' Sophie rolled her eyes as she extricated herself from her mothers grasp, 'Bye Mum, Dad, bye Rosie, bye everyone!' she hugged her Dad and sister briefly before setting off in her little red Fiat for Sian's house, grinning and waving as she left for the next stage of her life.

* * *

Sian was sitting on her bed trying to get her suitcase to zip up when she heard the doorbell go. 'Please don't let that be Soph yet' she thought to herself as she hurried up pulling the zip. 'And you said I was disorganised!' Glancing up she saw Sophie standing in the doorway, arms crossed with a smirk on her face. Defeated by the suitcase and knowing that it was too late anyway Sian got up and crossed the room. Taking hold of her best friends hands and swinging them apart she said, 'Who cares anyway! Come and give me a hand then we can put my stuff in your car and get going'. With Sophie sat on top and Sian working the zip it was soon closed.

'Just out of curiosity. Do you have a lot of stuff?' Sophie asked, 'Only I think my Mum's packed most of the house by the way.' Sian giggled, she knew exactly what Sally was like and thought that had it been possible the _whole_ house would have come with them, bricks, mortar and mother included. 'Nah just a couple of suitcases. I left most of my things with Jamie cos he decided not to go home for the summer and I figured that it would just be easier to not drag 'em home then drag 'em back again.'

'Probably' Sophie agreed as they dragged the suitcases out the front door and she got the car keys out of her pocket. Jamming the suitcase she had brought downstairs in between the back of the drivers seat and a blue cool-box on the seat she turned to look at Sian. 'Good job Paul's got my stuff! Where am I supposed to put this one?' she questioned looking at the car which was already so full of boxes that there was no way Sophie could see out of the back window. 'Erm ….. On your knees? We're not going far are we!' she giggled as Sian pulled a face, 'yeah cos it's only a short 2 hour drive to Nottingham' then got in the passenger seat and dragging the suitcase in behind her said, 'You'd best close the door then cos I can't reach anymore'.

With the windows down and music blaring out over the radio at full blast the journey didn't seem as long as it had this time last year to Sian. 'So where do we need to go first?' Sophie asked as she pulled off the M1 following the signs towards Nottingham. 'Our new home of course!' Sophie grinned as a shiver went through her body. She was incredibly lucky to be able to share this new experience with her best friend and she knew it. 'I can't wait, what's it like?'

'It's just a normal house cos your not going into student accommodation, 6 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, living room, turn right here, garden, garage. I told you to turn right Soph!' Sian groaned as they sailed past the turning. 'No you didn't!'

'Yes I did, never mind just turn round at the traffic lights, you can pull into the car park at the phone shop and come out again.' Sian didn't want to argue and clearly neither did Sophie as she just stuck her tongue out at the blonde making her giggle before following her instructions carefully.

* * *

Finally pulling up on to the steep drive in front of the house a few minutes later, Sophie only slightly clipping the wheelie bin, the two girls got out of the car stretching to relieve their aching muscles from being in one position for so long. '!' Sian suddenly shouted at the top of her voice making Sophie jump. A young man with short black hair wearing brightly coloured bermuda shorts came running out of the house, '!' he shouted back before coming over and lifting her off the ground in a giant hug. 'How you been?' he asked as he put her back down. 'I've been good! Missed _you_ though. Hey this is Sophie by the way' She replied as she steered him round the car to make the introductions. 'Ah the famous Sophie' he grinned, 'Don't worry she's only told me good things'

Sophie smiled shyly, 'That's OK then! You think you could help us empty the car by any chance?' Looking over at the car he baulked, 'Erm, yeah sure later though, you two need a drink I'm sure. I have a lovely bottle of wine chilling in the fridge. Paul bought it for me in Spain. That reminds me - ' As he talked he had an arm round each of the girls and was pulling them into the house, 'How is that gorgeous boyfriend of yours Sian? Still in Glasgow?'

'Glasgow? yes. Gorgeous? no.' Sophie laughed as she teased Sian, even though she was friends with Ryan she couldn't see why Sian fancied him. Never had been able to. Paul threw her a strange look at her tone of voice that neither girl saw, 'What about you? You got a hunk of a man hanging about anywhere?' He asked the brunette, Sian took the opportunity to answer for her and to do a bit of teasing herself, 'Nope, single since her ex kissed Ryan's mum!'

'Oh dear!' he gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head, 'No fear we'll soon sort that out for you, a trip out to the clubs is all that will take' he spoke to Sian but she just groaned, 'Don't bother, I've been trying to set her up for ages but she's not interested.' Sophie stopped walking just as they entered the kitchen, 'Er, I am still here you know!'

'Oh don't mind me, your Auntie Jamie has a bit of a thing for matchmaking and I can tell I'm going to love matchmaking you.' Jamie handed her a mug of wine, 'Sorry no glasses, the last one got smashed last week after an incident involving the garden hose, a hair clip and a bag of sugar. You don't want to know!'

* * *

A couple of hours later, having met the other new occupants of the house Chelle, an ultra skinny brunette with a mass of tight curls on her head, Marc, a tall brown haired boy with sticky out ears and Mike, the blonde haired, self styled 'rugby dude'. Sophie and Sian found themselves sitting outside with everyone, a can of lager in their hands being entertained by Jamie's Beyonce and Tina Turner routine. 'So he's gay then' Sophie muttered to Sian out of the corner of her mouth, 'Stating the obvious a bit there Soph' she giggled in reply, 'fresher's week starts tomorrow. You ready for a week of banging hangovers?'

'It won't be that bad will it?' Sophie asked, 'Of course it will! That's what freshers week is all about. Do you not remember talking to me during my freshers week at all?' Sian asked. 'Well yeah but I just thought you had a cold and you were exaggerating!' Sophie exclaimed.

'Don't worry, Paul and me are well experienced now, and we know every hangover cure known to man. We'll take good care of you.' She paused, 'But maybe you shouldn't ring your Mum for a bit, she'll be round here dragging you home otherwise!'

'Good idea' She grinned before the two girls snuggled in closer together and laughing as Jamie misplaced his feet and fell over dropping the contents of his mug over his head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Updating a bit quicker than I had intended, got a rush of ideas after a couple of bottles of wine! Hope it's not too bad as a result. Let me know what you think I love reading the reviews. Even with idiots mucking the system up!**

**Own nothing!  
**

The evening had passed pretty calmly after Jamie's accident, mainly because he decided that he'd had enough to drink and shot off to talk to his boyfriend instead. The 5 remaining students talked a little about themselves, finding out information before it got too cold and they decided to go to bed.

Sophie and Sian sat on Sophie's bed talking about what they were going to do the following morning. 'We need to go to the SU to see what's going on, then we've got the day to ourselves. What do you fancy doing?' Sian said as she automatically played with the brown hair in front of her. Sophie was so relaxed she was almost asleep, 'Dunno, you can show me the sights!'

Sian glanced down to see the blue eyes of her friend had closed, she gently got up and layed her down on the bed, covering her with her duvet as she whispered 'good night' and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.

She hadn't made it far in the dark when she crashed into a solid body, 'You two are a lot closer than I thought!' Sian could hear the smirk in Jamie's voice, 'What are you on about? I told you we were close, she's been my best friend for years. We've seen each other through all sorts of bad stuff' she muttered to him, desperate not to wake Sophie. 'Methinks the lady doth protest too much' he replied mysteriously before scarpering off to his own room without giving Sian a chance to reply leaving her standing in the hallway with a puzzled look on her face.

* * *

The following morning when Sophie stumbled down the stairs, rubbing her face, still half asleep she was treated to the sight of Jamie in a pair of yellow boxers humming along to a Rihanna song on the radio as he poured cereal into a bowl, 'Put on your pretty lies' he briefly sang part of the song until he saw Sophie watching him, 'Good morning! Not a morning person are we?' he asked when his cheerful greeting was met with a scowl. 'Want some breakfast?' he tried again, 'I'll do myself some toast in a minute' Sophie replied as she sat at the dining table, crossed her arms on the surface then placed her head carefully on top of them.

They were joined a few minutes later by Chelle, 'Well I hope your better than grumpy guts over there in the morning' Jamie grinned, 'Erm...'

'Good that'll do!' He exclaimed, grabbing her hand and twirling her around, 'sit down I'm doing breakfast.'

When he turned the radio up a few minutes later it wasn't long before the rest of the house were awake and downstairs in the kitchen. Sian was the last one down, fora reason she couldn't figure out she hadn't been able to get to sleep after the midnight meeting with Jamie in the hallway. She stood behind Sophie who still had her head resting on her arms and began brushing her hair back from her face with her fingers. 'Why did you have to turn the radio up Jamie? It's too early for your singing' Sian groaned, 'Music is best enjoyed as loudly as possible, you know that' Jamie placed a round of toast in the middle of the table and smacked his lips together in Sian's direction, 'Tuck in Soph, you wanted toast and now you have it!' Looking up at last the first thing Sophie saw was a pile of charred and blackened toast in front of her, 'No thanks, I don't like the taste of charcoal!' she croaked, 'I'll do you some more babe' Sian hurried over to the toaster to start again.

* * *

After they had all eaten Jamie announced that as the self appointed mother of the house it was time for them all to get dressed and go do something, anything. 'And your not welcome back till tea, that's at 6. I'm doing chicken tonight'.

Sophie quickly got dressed in her room before crossing the hall and knocking on Sian's closed door. 'Come in' Sian shouted. Entering the room she saw Sian sitting on the bed, phone to her ear, 'It's Soph. Ryan says hi'. Sophie shouted in the general direction of the phone, 'Hi Ryan!' then sat at Sian's desk waiting for her to finish the phone call. 'I know I miss you too babe, but your coming for a visit soon aren't you? - Good, listen I gotta go, Jamie's going to go mental if we don't leave the house soon. Love ya!' Sian sent a kiss down the phone line before hanging up. 'So when's he coming?' Sophie asked, 'This weekend hopefully, that is if he can take the time off work, his boss is being a right pain in the arse at the moment' the blonde replied, grabbing her bag from the side and dropping her phone inside, 'You ready to go?'

'Just waiting for you like always!' Sophie ducked as Sian playfully slapped her arm before she left the room, 'Come on then' Sophie could hear Sian chuckling to herself as she jogged down the stairs. By the time Sophie had reached the older girl at the front door they had been joined by Jamie, linking their arms Sophie asked Jamie, 'How come we have to go out but you don't?'

'Cos I guarantee you I've been there, done that already! And Sian has to look after you, don't want you getting lost do we?' He winked and pushed them out the door. Pleased with his morning's work so far he hummed the wedding march under his breath as he went back to the kitchen.

As they made their way to the Student Union Sophie peppered Sian with questions about University, so quickly in fact that the blonde only managed to answer about half of them. It only took 10 minutes to reach the city on the bus but Sian was exhausted by the time they turned the corner onto the street where the SU was situated. Sophie stopped walking and talking at the same time as she looked down the road though, making Sian worried, 'What's wrong?' she asked, 'Really? Trams? Nottingham has trams? Do they follow me around or something?' Sophie groaned as memories flooded back from the tram crash at the end of her road a couple of years previously. 'Sorry babe, I'd forgotten all about them. Are you ok?' Sian comforted the younger girl, 'If it helps, they don't go anywhere near our place!'

Sophie grinned, she knew she was being silly really, besides as long as she had Sian it was fine. 'Course I am, just – It's just weird that's all!'

* * *

They girls wandered happily round the student union for a couple of hours, looking at the stalls that had been set up with groups they might want to join, before their stomach's simultaneously began to grumble. Deciding that they didn't much want to join anything just yet and that food was far more important at the moment anyway Sian decided to take Sophie off to her favourite Weatherspoon's in town for dinner.

They hadn't gone far when they bumped into Mike, _the rugby dude_, looking lost, 'Hiya, you ok?' Sian asked, 'Yeah I think so. I just signed up to the rugby club, it looks great but I don't know what to do next. Think I might go home for some dinner.' Sian laughed, 'Jamie may be gay but you go home now and I guarantee you you won't be playing rugby this year. Maybe not even next year either.' Sophie giggled at the grimace on Mike's face, 'Apparently we're going to Weatherspoon's. Why don't you come with us?'

The trio enjoyed themselves so much over dinner that they ended up spending the afternoon splashing in and out of the fountain on the market square before returning, laughing, home just before 6. 'Honey, we're home!' Sian shouted through to Jamie. 'Have a good day?' he shouted back, 'I'm not shouting to him all night, I'm heading through to the kitchen to talk to him properly, you guys want anything?' Then, when they shook their heads she left them alone.

'Well today went well, think I might have found a boyfriend for Soph at last' Sian told Jamie as he finished cooking tea, 'What? Who?' Jamie spun round to look at her. 'Mike, they've been getting on like a house on fire all afternoon. They're currently occupied in the living room debating the merits of rugby versus football' Sian grabbed a mug and put the kettle on, 'Want a cuppa?'

Jamie stuck his head out the kitchen door to see if what Sian had said was true before coming back and facing the blonde, 'Nope it's never going to work.' He said confidently, 'What makes you say that?' Sian asked puzzled, she was absolutely certain there had been flirting on both sides and they clearly liked each other. 'Because I already have the perfect person in mind for Sophie, might take a bit of time to get them together, it's going to take a lot of careful planning but you'll see soon.'

'Don't talk in riddles Jay, who is it? I need to make sure he's going to treat my Sophie right and I'm not going to let you set her up with a scum bag' Sian was indignant and it showed in her body language as well as her voice. 'I'm not going to tell you! I don't want to spoil the surprise, besides this person is so perfect for her that you will not believe you didn't see it before' Jamie was enjoying teasing his friend, 'Hah! so I know him already do I?'

Jamie turned away from her then, unable to stop himself smiling, 'Go shout everyone down, tea's ready'


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok here we go again, still own nothing, still love these two! Thank you to all the reviews, they cheer me up when I spot them. Hope you like this chapter, I have something big planned for the next chapter which will move it on quite a bit, so just bear with me please :)**

The following day was spent in much the same way, Jamie kicked them all out in the morning promising them unimaginable pain if they returned too early and Sophie and Sian spent the afternoon in a little pub they had found just off the Market Square. Sian was utterly convinced that Mike was perfect for Sophie, despite what Jamie had said, and had insisted that he join them.

Returning pretty merrily, after drinking the afternoon away, to pork sweet and sour, as a group of eight they decided that they had known each other long enough that a night on the town was in order, 'Oceana?' Sian suggested, having been to the club before and enjoyed herself, 'No their student nights are Thursday's and it's way too expensive on any other night' Jamie countered. 'Erm... Rock City?'

'Wednesday night'

'Scream bar?'

'Tuesday's'

'Pit and Pendulum?'

'Only good on a Friday and Saturday night'

'So what are we supposed to do on a Monday night then?' Sian groaned in frustration as the rest of the group's heads moved backwards and forwards between the two like they were watching a game of tennis. The other four hadn't been to Nottingham on a night out before so they didn't feel like they could join in and were simply waiting for a decision to be made on the best and cheapest place they could go.

'Forrester's?' Jamie suggested tentatively, 'Really? You sure? Do they even _have_ students nights?' Sian was puzzled by Jamie's idea, Forrester's being not only a pub instead of a club but a gay pub at that and she wasn't quite sure how some of them would react to being in a gay pub. 'But it's cheap!' Jamie pointed out, 'And once we've had a few it might be easier to decide where to go next. After all it's not like we're any closer to deciding now than we were half an hour ago' he argued. Sian sighed, knowing she had already lost, once Jamie had made his mind up there was no changing it, 'Fine, lets go and get ready'.

Marc and Mike went and sat in front of the TV claiming they only needed a shower and a shave so they weren't going to get ready yet. Chelle muttered under her breath, 'Men!', grabbed Sophie and Sian's hand and dragging them up the stairs, 'You two can help me pick my outfit'

'What about me? I'll help' Jamie ran after them two bottles of wine in one hand and his CD collection in the other.

Britney Spears was blaring out at full volume within minutes of Jamie entering Chelle's room, the three girls couldn't help giggling at him as he danced round the room pouring drinks for all of them. 'We need clothes, Soph go get a selection from your room and bring 'em back here' Sian instructed, nodding Sophie left, followed quickly by Sian.

Chelle watched Jamie closely as, in turn, he watched the two girls leave, arm in arm, well as best as they could manage through the door anyway. 'You're up to something aren't you?' She spoke softly, 'Maybe' he grinned, 'Ooooh tell me!' Chelle's eyes widened in delight at this potentially juicy bit of gossip. Handing her a glass of wine, he sat at the bottom of her bed with a smirk on his face, 'I shouldn't really tell you you know'

'But you are going to right?' Chelle's curly hair bobbed up and down in anticipation, 'Yup, don't think I can hold it in much longer anyway!' He moved closer and spoke in a conspiratorial tone, 'I don't know why I didn't spot it last year you know. I've known Sian a year, _lived _with her for a year and I never spotted it'

'You aren't actually telling me anything you know! Spot what?' Chelle interrupted, impatient for Jamie to get to the interesting part. 'Have you noticed how close Sophie and Sian are?'

'Er, yeah! It's obvious to anyone with eyes in their heads, and probably to a few who haven't as well. So?' Chelle rolled her eyes as she spoke, 'The whole of last year I got Soph this, Soph that, Soph the other, every day they spoke on Skype, every day!' Jamie was throwing her as many hints as he could, without telling her outright, he was enjoying himself too much to just give up the information quickly. Chelle just looked at him and shrugged her shoulders, looking more puzzled now than she had before. He groaned and dropped his voice, 'She talked more about Sophie than she talked about Ryan!' he finished gleefully, sure that she would have worked it out by now, 'You know, her boyfriend, supposed 'love of her life''

Chelle squinted her eyes at the man practically jumping up and down on the end of her bed, 'Are you saying what I think you're saying?' Jamie pressed his lips together, suppressing a laugh and nodding fervently, 'Oh my god! That is so cool!' Chelle giggled, 'But how? If Sian has a boyfriend..?'

Jamie settled himself against the wall, 'That's what I'm trying to figure out, I don't think either of them know just how much they like each other. I have no problem splitting Sian and Ryan up though. I don't like him, never have'

'Don't like who?' Sian asked as her and Sophie re-entered the room, effectively halting their conversation and making Jamie jump and spill his drink, 'Just my English lecturer, Martin' he said thinking of the first guy who came into his head as he tried to mop up and wink at Chelle to tell her not to say anything. Getting the message she turned to the girls and changed the subject, 'So what have you brought for me to look at?' A mountain of clothes landed on her bed in front of her and the four of them started rooting through to find the perfect combination for a night on the town.

* * *

A couple of hours and numerous glasses of wine later they were leaving the house in high spirits, walking in pairs towards the bus stop Sophie remembered how strange the atmosphere had been when they had returned with their clothes. With Chelle and Jamie walking just in front of them she spoke quietly to Sian, 'Any idea what that was about earlier?' The blonde shrugged her shoulders, 'Jamie's always up to something, I just let him get on with it, never affects me anyway' Sophie wasn't convinced, 'Yeah but do you honestly believe he was talking about his English lecturer?' Sian chuckled, 'No way was he talking about his English lecturer, he fancies him rotten!' Sian hugged the brunette to her and kissed her head as they walked, 'Don't worry about it ok? We are going to have a wicked night. Aren't we Jay?' She shouted the question loud enough for him to hear and was rewarded by a 'Hells yeah!' and a punch in the air, making Sophie laugh.

During the bus journey, Jamie and Chelle on one seat, heads close together, discussing something that Sian couldn't hear, so she took the opportunity to ignore Jamie's opinions again and made sure that Sophie was sat next to Mike by sitting with Marc. Sophie wasn't too fussed about sitting with Mike, she would have much rather sat with Sian so she spent most of the time kneeling the wrong way round talking!

The trip to Forrester's took longer than their previous trips into the city centre, because it involved walking for 15 minutes after they got off the bus but as they reached the pub Jamie turned to everyone and said, 'Right, time to get this show on the road, you guys find a table, it's my shout, who wants what to drink?' Suddenly inundated with orders Mike and Marc offered to give Jamie a hand and the three girls went and sat in one of the booths.

'So how long have you guys known each other?' Chelle asked, wanting to see the situation for herself and see if Jamie had been right earlier that evening, 'Erm 3 years?' Sophie turned to Sian seeking confirmation, but shaking her head Sian said, 'no it's was 4 years this September. Remember how we met?' Sophie burst into laughter and turned to Chelle to tell the story, 'Sian's Mum and Dad had just split and so she'd moved and changed schools. It was her first day..'

'And this dozy cow is wandering along the corridor, head in the clouds...' Sian interrupted briefly, 'Oi! I was not, I was just - thinking intensely about my Science coursework!' Sophie stated indignantly, before continuing, 'You were looking at the noticeboard in the reception area...'

'And you walked into me!'

'Er no, you turned and walked into me!' They both laughed, then they spoke at the same time, 'Arse over tit we went. Jinx!'

'You can't help being friends with someone who knocks you over then laughs at you can you!' Sian giggled, 'I did _not _ laugh, I just...' Sophie couldn't think of a way to explain the situation properly, 'you just sat up, laughed and offered me chocolate!' Sian told her.

'Love at first sight then was it girls?' Chelle asked cheekily, 'How could I resist a curly whirly?' Sian sighed faking a dreamy look into space, Sophie grinned and nudged her, 'and what did I get in return?' Sian looked down at the table smiling, 'detention for pushing the new girl over!'

Chelle watched as they bantered gently over whose fault it had been, talking over each other and finishing each others sentences, breaking the flow she asked, 'How did you meet Ryan?' curious to see if a similar question would have the same response, 'Just from school, Soph's known him years though, they live on the same street.' Sian shrugged her shoulders, 'Still think he needs a haircut' Sophie muttered, 'Yeah he probably does' turning to Chelle the blonde explained, 'His hair makes him look like one of those little Lego people!'

Satisfied that Jamie was right on two counts, these two were definitely right for each other, and they definitely didn't have a clue about it Chelle grinned as the boys returned carrying 4 bottles of VK, a couple of pints and a round of shots. Sitting down and handing them out Jamie nudged the skinny girl next to him and raised his right eyebrow, she nodded and whispered in his ear, 'Game on!'

* * *

As the clock reached 11pm with Marc and Mike occupied on the far side of the bar in a game of pool with two men they had met earlier Jamie took the opportunity to shift the party into a club without them. 'Come on, lets a shift on then, we'll go to NG1, it's only round the corner' he suggested. Chelle jumped up eagerly followed by Sophie. This was going to be her first club experience and she was excited. Sian didn't move, 'What about Mike?' she asked. Jamie glanced at Chelle, 'They're busy, I'll text him and they can join us later, I just wanna get going!'

Faking a text message was easy as they walked to the club. 'What's the plan then genius?' Sian asked. 'The plan is, we go in, have a good time, then go home' Jamie replied sarcastically, 'Don't come that with me mister' she grinned, 'You're planning something and I'm going to figure it out'

'I have no doubt about that babe, but you're not ready yet and you won't figure it out till you are' He stuck his tongue out at her.

As the small group entered the dark club they were greeted by a six and a half foot man dressed in full drag. 'T!' Jamie screamed over the loud music running over for a hug, 'Hello darling how are you?' he answered in a deep voice, 'Poptastic's on tonight so you need a shag tag.' Moving slightly apart T removed a sticker from his sheet and placed it on Jamie's chest, making sure it was definitely stuck before repeating the actions with the three girls.

As they moved further into the club Sophie shouted to Sian, 'What's a shag tag?' but before she could reply Jamie swung his arm over her shoulders, 'It is the most fantastic thing in the world, if someone fancies you they can leave a message for you using your shag tag number. If you see your number flashing up on the screen you've pulled! Keep an eye out, you're looking fit tonight'. Sian nodded in agreement, 'Come on we're going to dance, Jay get the drinks in.'

'Don't tell me that's your plan?' Chelle joined Jamie at the bar, 'You're not going to be so crude as to send one of them a message via shag tag are you?' Collecting his change he turned to her, 'As if! I didn't even know Poptastic was on tonight, it used to be a Saturday. No tonight I just want them to enjoy themselves.'

The two of them looked over to the dance floor where Sophie and Sian were dancing and laughing together, completely wrapped up in each other. 'Well I think you've achieved that', Chelle acknowledged.


	4. Chapter 4

**I wanted to update last night when I finished this but my internet has been playing up again, worked on it a bit more this morning so I hope you like it!**

**I don't know when I'll be able to update again thanks to the internet, but I'll be working on the next chapter as soon as I post this and I'll get it up in the next internet working gap I find!  
**

**I don't own any of these characters. Believe me  
**

Several hours of drinking later and the lights came back on in the club to reveal Sophie and Sian curled up together on the seats of the quiet room. Watching them closely behind the rail were Jamie and Chelle. Out of nowhere Chelle hit Jamie on the arm, 'Ow, what was that for?' He pouted, 'That was because I have just had the most brilliant idea to get those two started' She grinned.

'Oh yeah? And that involves violence does it?' Jamie replied sarcastically. 'No of course not you pillock. Look I was just thinking that it's obvious those two not only have no idea about how they feel, but they also have no idea about dating any girls. Right?' Chelle pointed out, Jamie nodded slowly, not able to see where his friend was going, 'so we need to get the basic idea in their heads first before we start approaching any other possibilities. You get me?'

'No'

While the two have them had been discussing the major issue at hand in low voices, neither had been aware that Sophie and Sian had approached them from behind, 'We going home or what?' The blonde queried. 'Yeah, yeah of course babe' Jamie hurriedly replied, 'Kebab first though?'

'Good idea!' Sophie said loudly before setting off purposefully towards the toilets, which, being located in the opposite direction to the exit sent Sian scurrying after her in a fit of giggles.

Jamie and Chelle left the two girls to it and went outside to wait for them, giving them a little more time to discuss the plan the curly haired girl had just thought of. 'We need them to kiss once, that's all' Chelle pleaded, 'I bet that will set things in motion, we won't need to do anything after that'

'I don't know, I don't think it will work. They're not daft you know' Jamie had reservation's, he'd known Sian long enough to be sure that she wouldn't fall for something so simple. They didn't have time to talk much more though as the two girls in question fell out of the doorway in front of them at that moment. 'It will work, look how drunk they are' Chelle insisted, 'Look just go with it ok?'

As Sophie and Sian reached them Chelle put stage one into action, grabbing Jamie by his collar with both hands she shouted, 'Right, I am not going home tonight without a snog!' and pulled him in for a noisy kiss, almost pulling him over onto the floor with her enthusiasm. As the two of them came up for air a few moments later they turned to the other two who were standing open mouthed. Neither had expected this as an end to their night. Chelle grinned in happiness, 'It's the best way to end a night, a snog, and if you haven't got a special someone to share it with, mates have to do! But then you two will know all about that won't you?'

Sophie and Sian looked at each other, embarrassed, 'Erm n-no' Sophie stuttered, 'don't think I've ever kissed a mate on a night out'. Sian just looked at the floor, at her nails, anywhere in fact but at her friends.

Chelle grinned at Jamie, and, not believing how well it was going so far he nodded once to tell her that it was time for stage two. Throwing an arm around each of them as they walked he said, 'well in that case I think it's time we introduced you to that pleasure.'

'What? Kiss you?' Sophie didn't think that was a good idea. 'Me? No way, it would be so much better if you two kissed, you've known each other so long it'd be better that way!' Chelle danced in front of them, 'Hmhm, I always kiss my mates on nights out you know, you're missing out' She sang into the night air.

The group stopped as Sophie and Sian looked at each other, sizing up the idea. After a few moments though, Jamie lost patience, 'I dare you then' knowing that Sian could never resist a dare, and, from what she had said in the past neither could Sophie. It earned him a glare from Chelle, who thought that this would be pushing things too far and would never work.

She was wrong. Sophie and Sian were incredibly stubborn and at Jamie's challenge they moved closer together slowly and simultaneously, pausing for just a moment to look into each others eyes before their heads tilted and their lips met. Chelle's mouth dropped in surprise as she watched the scene unfold in front of her, 'Tongues? Did I just see tongues?' She whispered to Jamie, he nodded in reply before softly bouncing on his toes smiling from ear to ear with his friend as they quietly celebrated their unmitigated success.

This kiss lasted a lot longer than the earlier kiss of the night, so much longer that after a few minutes Jamie began to get a little nervous, 'Maybe we should stop them now' he suggested to Chelle, 'Why?' she was put out, thinking this was the best thing she had ever done in her life. Indicating the now roving hands of the two girls in front of them he pointed out, 'Cos if they keep going like this they're going to strip off and be arrested for indecent exposure' Chelle laughed, 'you may be right there, they're definitely not going to stop any time soon are they!'

Each of them chose a girl and put their hands on their shoulders, 'Time for a kebab' Jamie announced as they broke apart. Sophie and Sian stared at each other all the way to the kebab shop, then all the way home, steered by their laughing friends to stop them walking into inanimate objects like lamposts.

* * *

The following morning Sian woke up with a very sore head and a throat that felt like a desert. At first she was unable to remember most of the previous night and she lay in bed trying to rack her brains. After a while little bits came back to her and she laughed gently at the memories of Chelle grinding on some random bloke who looked too scared to move, and of Jamie snogging Chelle outside. At that memory however, something else came rushing into her head. She had snogged Soph last night too. Hadn't she? Sitting up she shook her head, trying to clear the fuzziness in her brain. Yes she had, she remembered clearly now. It had felt... right, just right. The memory of kissing her best friend filled all of her senses now and she was unable to think of anything else.

There had been fireworks last night too, she'd never kissed anyone and got fireworks before. Did that mean something? She smiled, unable to help herself as she felt a fluttering in her stomach that was an echo of last nights feelings. But if it did mean something, _what_ did it mean? And would it mean the same to Soph that it had to her? Because it had meant something, she was sure, even if she didn't know what that was. Should she say something to her? Or to anyone?

Ryan. She'd somehow forgotten about Ryan. Falling back onto her bed with a groan, she put her arm over her eyes. Maybe it would be best not to say anything, after all she had a boyfriend, she was supposed to be straight. She was straight. Maybe it would be best to play it by ear, that way she could plead drunken amnesia if anyone but Sophie asked. If Soph didn't bring it up then neither would she. Decision made she climbed gingerly out of bed and stumbled round her room looking for clothes to put on.

On the other side of the hall, in an identical room, Sophie did not have the same problem as her friend. The brunette had no memories of the previous night past shot nth at Forrester's whatsoever but unlike Sian had made no attempt to retrieve any either. Singing quietly along to her ipod as she went downstairs in search of water she was relieved to find no one else was up yet, she could relax in front of the TV without having to argue over the remote!

Having found a film on the movie channels she had wanted to see for ages, she paused it and went to top up her water. Coming back to the living room she saw Jamie lying stretched full length across the sofa, hearing her come in he feebly greeted her with, 'I am never drinking again!'

She grinned, 'Say's the hardened drinker, who knows every hangover cure in the world!' Jamie groaned and struggled to sit up, 'It was a good night though' he replied, 'Don't really know' Sophie shrugged, 'Must have been though cos I can't remember most of it' Jamie looked at her furrowing his brow, 'What about Sian?' Sitting next to him she replied, 'Haven't seen her this morning yet so I don't know.'

'Haven't seen who yet?' They were interrupted by Sian as she entered the room, 'Talk of the devil! Just wondering if you had a good night last night?' Jamie turned to ask. 'Yeah I had a fantastic night, as always! You?' she grinned. Sophie laughed, 'He had such a good night he's going teetotal'

'And if you believe that!' Sian smiled and went to make herself breakfast. Sophie gave up on the film as she heard more people coming down the stairs and followed the blonde into the kitchen. Sian was stood at the toaster so she went over and placed her head on her friends shoulder. 'Do me a couple of slices please?' she pleaded. Sian was instantly reminded of last nights kiss and the questions that had come with it, feeling uncomfortable she moved away to put the bread in the machine.

'You ok?' Sophie asked, 'You don't seem like yourself this morning' Sian didn't look at her friend, instead busying herself with making a cuppa, 'Yeah I'm fine'. The brunette wasn't convinced and crossed the room to turn Sian round. Looking at her face closely she could tell something wasn't right, 'Did someone hurt you last night?' She was worried and wasn't about let Sian off easily. Before she got an answer though a loud buzzing interrupted them. Reaching for her phone in her pocket she was relieved to see Ryan's name on the screen, 'It's Ryan, gotta get this' She rushed out of the room as she answered leaving Sophie even more confused than before.

* * *

Chelle and Jamie were sitting in the garden to talk about Sophie and Sian that afternoon. They had headed out separately a few minutes before, Sophie for milk and Sian had left without giving any reason at all. 'What's going on then?' Chelle asked, 'I don't know, both of them are claiming they don't remember last night, but...' Jamie couldn't finish, 'What?' The skinny girl urged him to continue.

'Sophie, I think genuinely doesn't remember but Sian? She's been off with Soph all morning. I mean she's actually avoiding her' Jamie tried to explain his thoughts. 'Ok so she knows they kissed but she doesn't want to face it. Is that what you're thinking?' Chelle tried to make sense of what he was saying.

'Yeah I think so and I don't think that's a good sign either. I mean if it didn't bother her she would be just the same with Soph wouldn't she?' Jamie stared into space as he voiced his concerns. Chelle nudged him, 'You've got that wrong', she grinned, 'It's perfect, it means that it did mean something to her and it means we're halfway there'.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all the reviews, they make me smile and want to write so keep 'em coming please. I'm glad you seem to like Jamie and Chelle, confession time, they are based on two of my best mates in real life. Although, I have made Chelle a _lot_ more intelligent! lol**

**Sorry it's taken a while to get this up, had a lot of difficulty writing this chapter.**

**Love Corrie, love these girls, but don't own either. Technically I may own the other characters though which I am pleased about!**

'They've barely spoken a word to each other all week' Jamie moaned, his head in his hands on the dining table, 'I knew we pushed it too far too quick'. Chelle put her arm round him to comfort him, 'No we didn't, we both knew it wasn't going to happen as soon as they kissed.'

'Ryan's coming today' Jamie looked at her, 'So what are we supposed to do now?' Chelle stood and started pacing while she thought, 'Ryan? Sian's boyfriend?'

'She's been going out with him for 3 years, plays the guitar, lives in Glasgow and looks like an idiot. Yes Sian's boyfriend' he spoke with tiredness in every syllable as he repeated his now standard description again. Chelle smiled, 'Simple! We need to split them up'

'You make it sound so easy, how are we supposed to do that?' Jamie sarcastically replied. Chelle shrugged her shoulders, 'Haven't thought that far ahead really but that's what we need to do. Maybe we could tell Sian he's been cheating?'

'We'd need proof for that' Jamie shot her down quickly but the curly haired girl wasn't about to quit that easily, 'We could plant condoms in his bag?' Looking at his friend in disbelief he replied, 'Do you not think he'll have brought a ton of them already?'

'Tell her he called you nasty name?' Chelle tried again, 'Even if that was true I doubt she'd dump him over that, she's just hit him a lot then make him apologize' The two friends went silent for a about 20 minutes, that was until Chelle decided she had come up with the best idea she had ever had, squealing loudly in Jamie's ear until he hit her to shut her up!

'Now that I'm deaf, would you mind telling me what that was for?' Jamie wiggled a finger in his ear trying to clear the ringing he could hear now. 'We tell her he's gay! Tell her he came on to you' Chelle bounced on her heels, utterly convinced that it would work. Dumbstruck Jamie stared at her, 'You're in University right? I thought that meant you were supposed to have some brains?'

Chelle stopped laughing, 'What? It's perfect, she's not going to want to be with him if he's gay is she?' Jamie pulled her back onto her seat and looked directly into her brown eyes, 'She knows he's not gay, plus he'd deny it, plus I'd never be able to keep a straight face cos the whole idea is so ludicrous and she would know I was lying'

'Fine. When does he get here anyway?' she asked grumpily finally giving up. 'Now apparently' Jamie replied, getting up to put the kettle on as he first heard the front door open then a series of thuds as something was dragged over the step.

'Hiya' Sian entered the kitchen grinning, 'Oh thanks Jay, mine's a coffee!' Following the blonde came a dark haired youth carrying a guitar and looking at his phone. Tapping out a message he ignored everyone in the room. 'This is Ryan I take it Soph?' Chelle asked seeing as he had made no attempt to introduce himself. Sian punched him not too gently on the arm, 'Oi! Rude' Ryan looked up, 'Hiya Jay, hi... Sorry I have no idea who you are!'

'Chelle' she said as came towards him to hug him. Why not be friends with him? She might find a way to split them up quicker that way she thought. 'Where's Soph?' he asked his girlfriend as soon as he was released. 'Out. Think she said something about going to the cinema with Mike' Sian seemed unconcerned with where the brunette was but it worried Chelle and Jamie and they glanced at each other, promising to talk to each other about the new development with their eyes. Throughout the week she had been spending increasing amounts of time with him and it was a genuine cause for concern for them and their plans.

'Really? Fancy going upstairs then?' Ryan's eyes glinted as he showed the first sign of life since he had arrived. 'Sure' Sian replied before being led away by her hand.

'At least she wasn't that excited by the prospect of spending time alone with him' Chelle reassured Jamie as soon as the couple were out of earshot, 'I'm not too impressed with his personality either'

* * *

'What's up Soph? You've not been yourself today' Mike asked worriedly, they were sitting in the restaurant below the cinema and as he spoke he took her hand in his on the table. 'Nothing really, just a bit worried about Sian. She's been funny with me all week and I don't know what I've done to make her fall out with me' Sophie found it easy to talk to Mike, he made her feel safe. 'Maybe you need to talk to her then. I bet it's nothing that a chat won't fix' Sophie wasn't convinced but she didn't want to talk about it. Instead she stood up, 'Come on lets go home, I'm not going to get to talk to her this weekend but I want to say hi to Ryan, he should be here by now'

They decided to walk home instead of catching the bus because of the balmy late summer weather and Sophie was so deep in thought about Sian that it took her a good 10 minutes to realise that she was still holding hands with Mike. She didn't mind at all really, it seemed to keep him quiet and it meant that she could allow her mind to wander freely. She could trust him not to let her walk into things for a start!

As they walked she mulled the Sian situation over in her mind. Was it because she was spending so much time with Mike? With Ryan there then maybe things would get back to normal a bit. Without really thinking about what she was doing she stopped in the street and turned to Mike, 'While Ry's here do you fancy the four of us going for a drink?' Shocked at her forwardness he paused briefly before replying, 'What like a double date?'

Sophie supposed he was right so she nodded her agreement, Mike smiled and bent down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips, 'Sounds like a good idea to me, lets go home and start making plans' The brunette smiled uncertainly, although he didn't see it and he carried on walking with a slight jump in his step. She'd been on a few dates over the past couple of years but none of them had ever gone past the first date. She'd never found anyone who suited her, she liked Mike though, spending almost all week with him had allowed her to get to know him really well and he was definitely a nice guy. Maybe a proper date tonight was exactly what she needed.

* * *

Things definitely seemed to be back to normal as Sophie and Sian got ready in Sophie's room away from the boys, laughing and joking. Sian threw a top towards her friend, which hit her in the face, laughing the blonde said, 'Try that one on, you'll look proper fit in that' The brunette stripped off and pulled the green top over her head.

Unable to stop herself looking Sian felt the breath hitch in her throat as saw her toned and slightly tanned stomach appear quickly. 'Sian give me a hand, I'm stuck' came a disembodied voice as the top refused to go any further leaving an arm sticking out at a strange angle. Falling onto the bed as she continued her fruitless struggle. Getting no help Sophie was forced to repeat her request, 'Well come on then!'

Sian was snapped out of her daydream about her friends stomach quickly by the sharpness in her voice and she forced her feet to move over to the bed, 'You've put your arm _and _head through the hole for the head' she laughed and tried to pull the top back. The blonde was successful very quickly although she must have pulled too hard as both girls fell on top of each other on the floor with the effort.

Sophie giggled uncontrollably on top of Sian, who was laughing just as hard. The brunette was so happy that things were ok with them and she looked down at her friend. Seeing the icy blue eyes beneath her like it was the first time, even though it wasn't, stirred something deep inside her. A memory maybe? Sophie stopped laughing suddenly as she tried to work out what was going on in her head making Sian stop as well as she searched her friends face in the hope of working out exactly what had made her freeze.

'Don't stop on my account' The two girls looked up in shock as if a spell had been broken to see Ryan standing in the doorway smirking at the sight in front of him. Sophie jumped up covering her chest, 'Go away Ry, we're not ready yet' Slamming the door in his face and turning to help her friend off the floor, she said, embarrassed, 'Sorry, didn't mean to fall on you like that you know'

Sian shrugged her shoulders, 'I know, it's ok. We'd best get dressed quickly now though, before he comes back'. An uncomfortable silence descended on the room as the two of them finished dressing quickly, both trying to forget whatever it was that had happened between them in those few short moments.

* * *

The foursome left the house a short time later, laughing and joking, the two girls determined to have a good night and to get their friendship back on track. This left Chelle and Jamie more despondent than ever before as they began to work their way through a box of cheap wine. After putting some music on to try and cheer them up Jamie said, 'It's worse than I thought, Sophie now has a date, that means we need to split those two up as well.' Looking up to the ceiling he shouted, 'You might have made this easier for us you know, not harder!' Chelle leant against the back of the settee he was sitting on, 'Don't be so mardi, we'll figure it out'.

'Glad at least one of us is positive' Jamie grinned at her. Chelle heard her phone ringing to let her know she had a text message and as she crossed over to pick it up she replied, 'One of us has to be, else nothing will get done!' Glancing down at her phone to read the open text, her mouth dropped open, 'Oh. My. God. Our lives have just got a whole lot easier!' she grinned and passed the phone over to Jamie who sat with a puzzled look on his face.

As he looked at the message a smile began to grow, then, finishing he jumped up and down yelling, 'This is perfect!.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here we go again, hope you like it, let me know if you do (or don't!) I love reviews lol**

**I don't own anything cept this laptop!  
**

The happy mood from earlier had dissipated pretty quickly as Jamie and Chelle began to realise the potential implications of the message they had both read. As much as it gave them a way of splitting Sian and Ryan up, neither wanted happen in such a harsh way.

Jamie sat on the sofa contemplating the options that were now open to them, 'So... you and Ryan have the same phone then?' Jamie said as he continued to look through the phone's inbox, revealing more and more about what Ryan had been up to. 'Yup, and we have proof now too' Chelle agreed as she brought a bottle of wine into the living room.

'The next question is how are we going to break it to her... and when' He pointed out, 'I mean it's not the easiest information to tell someone is it? And I definitely don't want to be the one who hurts her'

'You won't be' Chelle replied, 'He's the one in the wrong so he'll be the one hurting her. We're just the messengers' Jamie put his hand over his eyes, 'Just have to hope she doesn't shoot us then I suppose' The curly haired girl shrugged her shoulders, sat next to him and said, 'Look we'll just have to show her the messages and the photos. There's no other option really is there.'

Jamie poured the wine for them, 'It's not that simple though is it? They've been going out for years and Sian's going to be heartbroken, if we do it in the wrong way she's not going to be in the right frame of mind for a new relationship and it could put everything in jeopardy'

'Oh, right' Chelle pressed the palm of her hand to her head forcefully as she thought, 'We should bluetooth some of the pics to your phone now though.' Jamie's forehead creased and his friend continued, 'He's got to know he's got my phone and not his by now so when he gets back he's going to delete as much as he can off his phone and hope that we haven't seen anything' She shrugged her shoulders again, 'It's what I would do and it will give us more time to think'

Jamie smiled as he began transferring the pics to his own phone, 'You're not completely daft you!'

'I've had practice! That's all' Chelle explained, changing the subject slightly as they began talking about her pretty extensive history of cheating on her ex boyfriend Ste. They were so involved in laughing about one incident in particular when he had found an explicit text on her phone and she had blamed a friend handing her number out to random guys she had met instead of her own when they heard the door open and the two couples coming home. As he jumped up to replace the phone where it had been left Jamie thought his heart was going to beat straight out of his chest.

'What are you two talking about?' Sophie asked as she pulled Mike into the living room by the hand followed quickly by Sian and Ryan. 'Nothing much, just cheating' Chelle explained as innocently as she could while trying to steal glances in Ryan's direction. She was rewarded, of sorts, as he deliberately looked away from his girlfriend, coughed and said, 'Um, I think I picked up your phone by mistake by the way' then he passed it over to her.

'You guy's have the same phone? What a coincidence!' Jamie said sarcastically, although luckily for him no one but Chelle picked up on the tone in his voice as they were too wrapped up in talking about the bar they had been to.

Jamie watched Ryan as he wrapped his arms round his girlfriend and started to whisper in her eay. He couldn't stand Ryan at the moment, knowing what he knew about him and wanting to get away from him, so he nudged Chelle and said, 'Come up to my room hun, we need to talk' Sian turned to face him, a suspicious look on her face, 'You two still plotting then?'

'Of course not' he answered, he didn't want to give the game away, especially not tonight, with everyone around, 'Just want to give you lot some space'

* * *

Sophie and Sian were sitting next to each other on the sofa, Mike next to the brunette and Ryan next to the blonde, watching the music channels late into the night as they chatted. As a break came on, the two boys went to the kitchen to top up their drinks and silence fell briefly over the two girls. 'I can't stand this' Sophie suddenly turned to Sian, the alcohol she had consumed that evening giving her the guts to ask for answers to her friends mood over the last week, 'What has been up with you this week? You've been dead funny with me'

Sian took a deep breath, she really didn't want to get into her reasons for why she had been avoiding her all week, especially as they had been confirmed somewhat by the way she had been unable to concentrate on anything but the feel of the brunettes leg against her own that evening as they sat together. Instead of getting into possibly dangerous territory she decided to try and divert the subject onto something else that had been bothering her since yesterday.

'It's Ryan, he's been obsessed with his mobile since he got here, even more than normal!' She interrupted herself with a short laugh, 'He's been texting furiously and this morning he was on the phone to someone but he hung up as soon as he knew I was there'

Sophie knew that this wasn't the reason her friend had been off with her but deciding that this was more important she pushed it out of her mind and put an arm round the blond's shoulder's and asked, 'Did he say who it was?' Sian chuckled once, 'Claimed it was his Mum, but I usually like... have a catch up with her when he's around, get the gossip from back home, that kind of thing and he knows that, so why did he hang up instead of passing her onto me?'

'I really don't want to say this, but...' Sophie couldn't actually bring herself to say the words, despite the fact that that it was pretty obvious they were both thinking the same thing, 'He's cheating on me' Sian finished for her feeling surprisingly ok with the words as she spoke them.

'Oh babe!' the brunette wrapped her friend in a big hug, 'What are you going to do?'

Sian relaxed there, not wanting to move, she felt safe in Sophie's arms, like she was home and protected from anything the world could throw at her, 'I don't know, I have a lot of thinking to do now. He's going back to Glasgow tomorrow and that will give me time to go over everything that's going on in my head'

Sophie pulled back from the hug, 'What do you mean? You're not going to have it out with him tonight?' she spoke indignantly on her friends behalf. Sian moved to the edge of the sofa and looked at the floor before speaking, 'I just... I know he's cheating and maybe in the past I would have had a go, tried to work it out or just straight up dumped him but now...'

Sian groaned and stood up as she tried to articulate what she thought without actually giving away what she really felt. The brunette waited patiently as Sian looked at her nails and then out of the window, still unable to look at Sophie. After a few minutes she continued, 'I've been having feelings for someone else myself but they are totally off limits. I mean it is not an option... ever. So maybe I should just let Ryan's cheating slide and try to use my relationship with him to move on from this other person'

'You can't do that!' Sophie exclaimed, 'That's just not fair on you or Ryan. Who is it anyway?' Sian sat on the single seat on the other side of the room and pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms round them, 'It doesn't matter who it is'

'Of course it does. He might like you too, just not want to say anything' Sophie sat herself on the floor in front of her friend, resting her back on the chair and leaning on her feet. Because it was easier to allow Sophie to believe that it was a guy she liked, she simply said, 'Doesn't matter if that's the case. Still off limits'

Mike and Ryan returned from the kitchen just then, bringing the conversation to a premature end but neither of the girls was really in the mood for staying up much longer after that so within 10 minutes they all went to bed.

* * *

Sophie lay awake for a long time mulling over Sian's words. They had been through a hell of a lot together, from first crushes to her parents splitting up and they had never had secrets before so whatever Sian was going through now that she didn't want to talk about must be really serious. Even though they hadn't seen much of each other over the past year since the blonde had been to university without her they had still talked every day and she had thought she knew everthing about her.

Who could it be that she had fallen for? Sophie did know her well enough that it was obvious she had fallen hard if she was genuinely considering staying with Ryan to get over them when he was already cheating on her. That really wasn't like her, she was too feisty for that. She wanted to hurt Ryan physically and mentally for what he was doing to Sian.

Eventually she made a decision to talk to Ryan on her own tomorrow, to try to make him confess to his girlfriend and hopefully force Sian to deal with the problem instead of sweeping it under the carpet like it seemed she wanted to. Relaxing slightly at last she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep about 3am.

At about the same time, Sian gave up on sleeping and pulled herself away from Ryan who was snoring in her ear and went downstairs for a drink. Curling herself up on the sofa she began to cry softly at the situation she had somehow got herself into. Thinking about her best friend in a way that had never crossed her mind before had turned her world upside down. The fact that Ryan was cheating on her and she just didn't care had proven to her that their relationship was in reality over.

Regretting the way she had pushed Mike and Sophie together for her own selfish reasons just made her feel worse than ever. She loved Sophie more than anyone else in the world and she needed her to be happy. That's what love was after all wasn't it? You want the best for that person even if it was at your own detriment.

* * *

In the morning, as usual, Jamie was the first one up and he found the blonde girl fast asleep on the sofa. Unaware of how she was feeling, or the conversation that had happened late the previous night he stood for a few minutes leaning on the back of the sofa watching her. 'What should I do?' he questioned her sleeping body, quietly enough that it didn't disturb her, 'I hate him for what he's done to you and if I get the chance I will quite happily punch his lights out, but I don't want to see you hurting so I'm struggling to tell you the truth.'

**By the way I know you all want to know what's on the phone, don't worry, it's all kicking off in the next chapter. I have the message written out already and hopefully it will be a bit of a surprise!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I own nothing, cept the story and a questionable orange.**

By the time Sophie managed to wake up after her broken sleep everyone had gone out for the day and she was left to mull things over yet again. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Jamie come in and join her at the table until he tapped her head, 'Anyone in there?' he asked, laughing.

'Sorry mate, just got a lot on my mind at the moment.' She replied despondently. The corner of Jamie's mouth turned up slightly as he gave her a half smile, 'Know the feeling there! Might help to talk about it?' he replied as he got up to put the kettle on.

'Can't really talk to you about it, sorry. It's Ryan I need to have words with' Sophie explained. Jamie spun round to look at her closely, brow furrowed, 'Ryan? Why him?' he asked, almost accusingly, as he wondered if the brunette had found out about what he had been up to.

Sophie's head snapped up at the tone in his voice, so far she had only been half paying attention to his presence anyway but something in his voice told her that he knew more than she thought he did. 'Do you know...?' she probed him gently, trying to find out without giving anything away.

'Nothing' he replied quickly and he turned back to the kettle, busying himself with making his fourth cup of tea that morning. 'You sure? You answered pretty much instantly' Sophie wasn't daft and she got up and walked over to him as she spoke, 'If you really know nothing look me in the eye and prove it to me'

'I know nothing about anything' Jamie insisted, still refusing to look at her, he'd always been useless at lying. 'Oh my god! You know' the brunette shouted as Jamie winced and clasped a hand to his ear. Unknown to him she had walked right up to him and the yell had gone right in his ear. 'How long have you known?' The volume hadn't been reduced at all and had been punctuated with a sharp poke to the ribs as well.

Holding on to the sore spot on his ribs Jamie almost ran to the other side of the room as he tried to avoid the violence, 'Stop yelling at me. I haven't done anything!' he pleaded.

'You best tell me everything you know or I won't be responsible for my actions' Sophie threatened as she advanced slowly towards him giving him her best death stare as she moved. Giving up, Jamie sat down at the table again, 'Look this isn't easy you know, I don't really know how to tell you let alone Sian. And before you say anything I have been trying to figure out how to tell her, I just haven't worked out how to yet'.

Jamie suddenly looked tired and Sophie began to worry, maybe Sian and her had got it wrong, maybe it was something completely different. Sitting next to him and taking his hand she told him, 'Please try'

'Me and Chelle were chilling last night when she got a text. Only like you know it wasn't her phone and the text wasn't exactly good news for Sian.' Jamie started until he was interrupted, 'What did it say?' Sophie asked impatiently, 'I saved it and some photos on my phone' he replied putting his hand in pocket to show her.

After finding the correct message he hesitated before handing it over, 'Please don't hate me for not doing something about it last night when you see it, I just...' The brunette didn't give him a chance to finish and took hold of the phone. As she read it her heart felt like it had dropped through the floor. Shocked, she looked up at her friend, her mouth moving but no words coming out.

Seeing the pain in her eyes, Jamie leant over and gave her a hug. It worked, giving her the courage to speak again, 'How could he? We thought he was cheating but this...'

Sophie got up and screamed in anger as it pulsated through her whole body making her physically shake. Placing her hands on the kitchen counter to steady herself she looked straight at Jamie, 'I'll kill him, I'll rip his balls off and stuff them so far down his throat he'll have to use a toothbrush to clean his backside'

'You'll have to think of something else, Chelle wants to use them as paperweights!' Jamie attempted a joke, trying to calm her down. 'This is why you two ran off last night then' Sophie realised as he reminded her of the skinny girl.

'We were trying to work out how to deal with it best,' Jamie explained, 'That and the fact that neither of us trusted ourselves to behave around him'. Taking a deep breath he went over to the kettle and made her a drink.

'That your solution to everything?' Sophie asked, nodding to the mug he was putting a teabag in but he didn't say a word in response, everything was about to go crazy and he knew it.

* * *

By early afternoon Jamie and Sophie had moved the discussion upstairs where they were joined by Chelle, sitting on Jamie's bed the brunette told the other two what Sian had told her the previous night, 'So she likes someone else?' Chelle asked as she put changed tracks on the CD player, 'she might be ok with the whole Ryan thing then'.

Sophie shrugged, 'Dunno really, she won't tell me who he is and she says it's a no go anyway. She seemed a bit – down about the whole thing really' turning to Jamie, who was lying with his head in her lap, she asked, 'Has she said anything to you?'

'Erm, no' he replied, careful not to answer too quickly for a second time before changing the subject, 'Anyone got any ideas on how we tell her?'

'Like a plaster. Tell her quickly, it's the only fair way' Chelle interjected, 'And, no offence Jay, but Soph should tell her too, better it comes from the person she's closest too.'

Behind her the door opened, 'Who should tell who what?' Sian asked into the silence that had descended on the room. Just behind her they could see Ryan hovering in the shadows looking worried, like he knew what was about to happen.

Jamie got off the bed and pushed Chelle out of the room in front of him, 'You guys need to talk' he said pointedly, just before he closed the door he threw his phone on the bed beside Sophie and mouthed, 'Good luck'

'What is it babe?' The blonde asked with a worried look on her face after her friend didn't volunteer any information immediately. Sophie seemed to crumple in front of her as she held out the phone with the incriminating message showing. 'It's been taken off Ryan's phone. I'm sorry'.

Sian took it and read it out loud, 'Don't forget to tell your Mum to come back with you. We need to tell her in person she's gonna be a Grandma' Without speaking Sophie pulled her onto the bed and gave her a bear hug as she began to process the news.

* * *

Downstairs Jamie and Chelle were preventing Ryan from leaving the house as they waited for the explosion to happen. 'I'm going to be late for my train' he pleaded but Jamie wasn't having any of that, 'You weren't bothered about the train when you were upstairs a few minutes ago were you?' Leaning against the front door Chelle continued on his behalf, 'Not trying to hide something are you?'

'Of course not!' Ryan insisted, holding his hands up, 'I've just got to go that's all'

Just then, there was a shout from upstairs followed quickly by a loud smash from outside and Sian and Sophie came steaming down the stairs, 'How could you!' the blonde shouted at him before slapping him round the face, 'Four years? Four years and you go cheat with some other girl and you don't even have the common decency to tell me? I have to find out from my mates'

Ryan looked broken, 'I'm sorr...' he tried to apologise until he saw the murderous looks on the faces around him and he dropped his tone, 'Can we talk somewhere more private please?'

'No way!' Sophie confronted him, 'You're not squirming your way out of this one. What made you think you could get away with it?'

'It was a mistake, you know I love you', ignoring the brunette he appealed to Sian, 'It was a one time thing, I never meant for it to happen' She scoffed at his claim, 'Once? So how come she's pregnant and wants to meet your Mum?'

'Have you been going through my phone?' Ryan accused her. Jamie put his hand up smiling, 'That would be me, I transferred a few things onto my phone to show her'

'You have no right getting angry at her even if she had gone through your phone!' Sophie shouted in frustration, making him back away from her in fear. Running her hand through her hair she turned her back on him briefly before facing him again and slapping his face as hard as she could. Waving her finger in his face she threatened, 'I'm going to ring Michelle and tell her what you've been up to as well'

'Oh god' Ryan almost cried as he rubbed his sore cheek, 'She's going to kill me'

'Good!' Sian spat at him, 'That's the least you deserve. What made you think she wouldn't find out anyway?'

Ryan hung his head, 'I don't know'. Chelle moved to open the door, 'I think you'd best go now. Don't even think about coming back either' she told him. As he picked up his suitcase to leave Jamie caught hold of his arm, 'One more thing before you leave'. Before anyone could stop him his fist came out of nowhere and connected sharply with Ryan's jaw sending him sprawling onto the front step. Chelle slammed the door behind him and cheered.

Nursing his fist with his other hand Jamie turned to Sian and asked, 'Can I have my phone back now?'

She turned to look at Sophie and the two girls started giggling uncontrolably, 'She threw it out the window!' Sophie gasped inbetween laughs. Jamie looked stunned for a few moments before the tension of the last 20 minutes broke and he joined them in laughing at the situation.

* * *

After Mike and Marc returned home, full of regret that they weren't there to dole out their own punishments as well, the 6 of them spent the evening roundly abusing the male gender, culminating in Jamie chasing Marc round the living room with a flip flop after he offered to do a strip tease to cheer everyone up.

The amount of alcohol they consumed made the night very happy but eventually they did have to go to bed. Sian had to drag Sophie up the stairs because she was trying to order 25 pizza's to be delivered to Ryan's house in Glasgow from the takeaway round the corner and she did want to be able to use them in the future.

Almost as soon as Sophie lay on her bed she fell asleep and Sian tucked her in tenderly. Kneeling by the bed she brushed the brown hair out of her friends face, 'I love you' she whispered before gently kissing her on the lips and leaving the room.

Sophie wasn't quite asleep though and as the door clicked shut her eyes snapped open. Woah!

**BTW Boo? believe me it is possible to have a complete blank spot. I have one from an christmas works do a couple of years ago. Despite 4 witnesses telling me I had done something I still have no recollection of that particular incident! Mind you I don't actually want to remember it either:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Farid it's a short one this time, been out celebrating my birthday! 3 day bender followed by a full day in bed recovering. No blank spots this time as far as I know lol**

**I own nothing btw  
**

Despite her exhaustion following the events of the past 24 hours Sophie was unable to sleep as she replayed the kiss over and over again in her mind. Sian had told her that she loved her and had kissed her only when she was sure the brunette was asleep. Sophie loved her friend too, there was no doubt in her mind about that, but the way it had happened suggested to her that it was more than a friend kiss. She pressed her hand to her lips in the darkness, reminding herself again of the brief touch. There had been something familiar, comforting and strangely normal about it all.

Too restless to stay laying in bed she got up and stood by the window and listened to the sounds of the night. She could just see small bits of plastic still lying on the ground from Sian's earlier 'accident' with Jamie's phone and for a short time she was pleasantly distracted thinking about the way they had all dealt with Ryan.

Thinking about 'lego head', as she knew she would always think of him from that moment on brought her to they way Sian had reacted to the possibility of him cheating. Had she got it wrong? Maybe it wasn't a bloke she had feelings for. Could it be possible that she was the one that the blonde had fallen for? If so, was that why Sian had been so funny with her all week?

As the questions flew through her head Sophie wasn't quite sure how to answer them without wondering about her own feelings for Sian so it wasn't long before other questions started rattling around her brain. She had never, at least consciously, thought of her best friend in that way before. The kiss, as quick and as gentle as it had been, had felt right and she had to admit to herself that it scared her. Her head filled with memories and she felt herself looking at the blonde with new eyes.

Sian's laugh and smile dominated her thoughts now, how cute she could be, how beautiful she was and Sophie realised that she had been jealous of her relationship with lego head, even though she hadn't recognised it as such at the time. What did that mean for her? For them?

Pushing away from the window Sophie groaned. She had to do something about it, she couldn't face losing Sian. Without thinking about it she walked the few steps to her door, out and across the hall to Sian's room. First she put her ear to the door and the brunette found, reassuringly, that she couldn't hear any noise from the other side. The door hadn't fastened properly and as she leant on it it swung open.

She crept inside, shutting the door as she went and sat herself on Sian's desk chair. Leaning on her hands she watched the blonde as she slept. Sophie had seen her friend sleep on many occasions, like when she'd stayed over to get a bit of peace from her Dad, but never quite like this. She couldn't help herself letting a small giggle escape her lips as she contemplated the ridiculousness of the situation she was in. She was actually sitting in the middle of the night, watching her best friend sleep!

She couldn't bring herself to leave though and she was still there 10 minutes later as Sian turned over, let out a sigh and muttered something under her breath that Sophie couldn't catch. Moving closer to the sleeping girl to hear more easily if Sian spoke again the brunette leant with her side against the bed so she was able to look into the blondes face.

It wasn't long until she was rewarded for her patience. Sian seemed to be dreaming, her eyes moving like they were fluttering under their lids and her limbs were jerking occasionally. Her mouth opened silently a few times before whispering a few words of gobbledegook. Sophie held her breath and leant in closer, just in case.

'Soph...' Sian suddenly breathed and Sophie felt her heart stop in her chest before it seemed to take off, it was beating so fast. She was dreaming about her and it made her happier than she had ever thought possible.

Feeling a level of desperation for information that she had never experienced before Sophie spoke quietly, unable to stay silent any longer, 'Sian?' she whispered. At first the response she got was more than she could have hoped for as her best friend smiled in her sleep, arching her back as she did so. There was more unintelligible muttering as she settled herself again in her sleep before, 'Soph... love... and... Ryan, don't know'

Not quite sure what to make of that, Sophie began to get up. As she did she accidentally knocked the bed slightly and Sian's arm shot out and grasped a tight hold of her arm. Feeling something like an electric shock run through her Sophie froze, watching for any signs that she had woken up. She clearly hadn't as her eyes remained firmly shut but a pained look had crossed her face and she spoke again, 'Stay... need you... stay'

'Ok' Sophie replied softly and Sian's hold relaxed slightly, although she didn't let go completely and the brunette sat back down, linking their fingers together. She stayed there for as long as she could but eventually her backside had gone numb and she had to move. Lying on the floor without letting go of Sian's hand wasn't the easiest thing she had ever attempted but it never crossed her mind to do anything else.

Finding a couple of towels just under the bad, Sophie fashioned a makeshift pillow to rest her head on and, able to relax at last, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Understandably, Sian was the first one of the two to wake up the next morning and she was very surprised to see Sophie curled up on her bedroom floor. Carefully she stepped over her to go to the bathroom. Trying to think of a reason for it she literally walked into Jamie at the top of the stairs, carrying two mugs, 'Ooops sorry babes. Hey, you got any idea why Soph's fast asleep on my bedroom floor?' She queried.

'Sorry, not a clue!' He grinned, 'Came in to check on you this morning and spotted her there so I'm bringing you both a cuppa. Go wake her up' He told her, giving her the mugs and waving off her protests that she wanted to go to the loo.

Given no choice Sian turned and walked back where she had come from, this time deliberately nudging the sleeping girl with her foot. 'Morning sleepyhead, Jamie's made you a cuppa'

Sophie yawned and stretched as she tried to wake up her aching muscles, 'Oh thanks' she groaned, accepting the drink gratefully.

'So...' Sian began as she took a sip and leant against the desk, 'Why _are_ you sleeping on my floor?'

Sophie looked into her mug, 'When we went to bed last night...' she paused, unsure of how to continue, 'Erm... I didn't go to sleep quite as quickly as you thought I did'


	9. Chapter 9

**Here we go again! Just want to say thanks to all the reviewers. I know I don't say thankyou everytime even though I should cos they mean so much to me, anytime I'm having a bad day I open them up and they make me smile :) so even though I don't say it enough please know I love them!**

**Wish I owned them, but I don't  
**

Sian stood in the doorway, arms hugging her chest, unsure of what she should say. How much did Sophie know? How long had she been awake last night? In the end she simply said nothing until Sophie prompted her, 'You said you loved me'

'Of course I love you, you're my best friend' the blonde responded nervously, 'Is that what this was about?' Indicating her own floor, Sian started praying in her mind that Sophie would feel the same as she did. Either that or she would stop talking about it and leave her to live with her embarrassment on her own.

Sophie felt a bit strange, maybe she had got it wrong after all, over-analysed and come to the wrong conclusion. It wouldn't be the first time she had done that. 'Yeah kinda. You kissed me too though, just thought it was a bit odd cos I was asleep!' she forced a smile onto her face as she moved to stand closer to her friend. Searching her face for answers she received nothing, Sian was keeping her expression as blank as she could, staring her in the eyes but deliberately trying not to give anything away. 'Fine if you're not going to tell me anything I'm going out'

Sophie stormed out of the room, pushing Sian forcefully into the wall as she went before slamming the door behind her. 'Soph, wait'. She hesitated briefly as she heard the blonde cry out behind her before deciding that she needed time on her own to sort out her feelings properly. Glancing down at her clothes she was relived to notice that she was still fully dressed in yesterdays outfit so she flew down the stairs and out the front door as quickly as she could.

Upstairs Sian sank onto her bed, deflated and disappointed. She'd handled that badly, but then what had she been hoping for really? A declaration of undying love? Probably! She grinned to herself even as the thought went through her head. 'You're looking pretty pleased with yourself!' Looking up she saw Jamie standing in the doorway carrying three mugs, 'Brought you two a cuppa. Where's Soph?' He asked as he came in and awkwardly put two mugs on top of a pile of paper that was lying on the messy desk.

'She's gone. Didn't you hear the door go?' Reminded of the strained and short conversation of just a few minutes ago Sian's reply was a lot shorter than she had intended and Jamie looked quite shocked.

Jamie's brow furrowed and he sat beside the blonde. 'You two had a fight?' He asked, concerned by his friends tone and the look of anguish that had replaced her earlier smile.

'Something like that' Sian leant back against the wall as she spoke, 'I don't want to talk about it. Just need a bit of time on my own please?' She pleaded emphasising every word with a look in her eyes that showed him how much she needed it.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since that morning and Sophie and Sian still weren't speaking. Jamie and Chelle couldn't understand what had gone so badly wrong. They were sitting at their usual post at the kitchen table as they went over everything again, probably for the hundredth time.

'We saw them that night, they looked so cute holding hands like that. Why did it all change so quickly? Completely out of the blue they hate each other' Chelle threw her hands in the air in a gesture of frustration.

'Nothing we do works anymore' Jamie agreed trying to distract himself by playing with a pile of salt on the table, 'Invite them on a night out and they'll only go if the other one doesn't. Have a night in with one and the other one makes sure she goes out. Both of them are spending a fortune on eating out just in case they have to eat together'.

Chelle leant forward, putting her arm into the intricate pattern Jamie had designed in the salt, 'So what's next?'

Lifting her elbow carefully till he saw how much damage had been done, Jamie pouted before he replied, 'First off you are never going to do that again. I'm going to have to start again now!' Pushing her away he gathered the salt closer to himself and began drawing again.

Chelle slapped him on the arm, 'That's it, we start from the beginning again!' Almost dancing in her seat she continued before he could say anything, 'Night out, get 'em drunk and make them snog again!'

'Tried that remember. They won't go out at the same time ' Jamie half chuckled watching the skinny girl's enthusiasm die before his eyes. Looking at his phone for the time he got up, 'Gotta head off. Lecture.' he explained.

'Don't worry babe, we'll figure something out' Chelle shouted after him.

Popping his head back round the door he sarcastically told her, 'I'd believe you if I didn't think we were about 3 steps behind square one at the moment!'

* * *

He had generated no new ideas when he returned to the house a couple of hours later, just as darkness began to fall. He had barely entered when he was greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting. The back of a brunette wearing a red corset, denim hot pants and heels so high that he was convinced she would fall over if she tried taking a step in any direction. Waving a glass of red wine in the air she was shouting up the stairs, 'Come on Soph, you promised you'd show me the sights'

She spun round to face him with a grace that Jamie wasn't expecting and he looked into a pale face that looked strangely familiar although he was certain he had never met her before in his life, 'Oh hello' she grinned, 'Don't know what's up with the Godbotherer. She's been a right stroppy mare today and I need to go out tonight. I have the most fabulous handbag I want to try out.'

Jamie opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Not that it mattered because the stranger had already lost interest in him and was again yelling up the stairs. This time she was threatening to take her out in her birthday suit if she had too. Stunned, he walked into the kitchen, Chelle and Sian were sitting at the table trying to stifle laughter behind their hands. 'I see you've met our Rosie then?' Sian giggled, unable to contain herself any longer. Jamie lifted his hands and eyebrows in the air, showing how puzzled he was.

'Sophie's sister' Sian explained. Jamie was even more puzzled after that, he would never have thought the quiet and gentle girl would have a sibling quite like, _that_! It did explain why he thought she looked familiar though, there was a pretty strong family resemblance there. Physically at least. 'Rosie is an... acquired taste, she's alright really' The blonde said in a somewhat convincing tone.

Jamie held his hands up, 'If you say so. Are you heading out with them tonight?' He asked, trying to attempt an off hand manner.

Sian stopped laughing pretty quickly then and she got up, moving over to the sink. Pouring herself a glass of water from the tap she shrugged, 'Not really in the mood for a night out'

'Oh God, don't tell me your being grumpy too? That's all I need for my weekend down here. Get me a drink babe.' Rosie swept into the room, dropping into a chair and sighed, 'I was looking forward to a weekend on the town, maybe get myself a nice footballer'

'And how is Jason?' Sian topped up Rosie's glass before mouthing to Jamie and Chelle with a grin on her face, 'Boyfriend'.

Oblivious to Sian's pointed remark she waved her arm again dismissively, 'Oh he's fine, bought me these new shoes last week. How gorgeous are they?' Sticking a foot out for everyone to see she didn't wait for a response before launching into a new topic, this time directed at Sian. 'Anyway, what is up with you and my sister? You've practically been Siamese twins for years and now she tells me she hasn't spoken to you in, like, two weeks? And you're living in the same house now.'

'Just been busy that's all. Where's this new handbag you've been shouting about anyway?' Sian asked before Rosie could start again.

She wasn't happy with the answer but luckily for Sian Rosie was easily distracted and she jumped up, 'I'll go get it.' Desperate to show it off she almost ran out of the room leaving a stunned silence behind her.

'Well, that was interesting!' Jamie remarked after a couple of minutes, thinking the brunette was like a tornado, coming in and simply taking over everything around her. The two girls laughed knowing exactly what he meant.

It wasn't long before Rosie tottered back into the room proudly carrying a massive black bag in both hands in front of her. She was followed by a shy Sophie, clearly dressed by her sister as no one except Sian recognised her outfit. The blonde couldn't help herself from staring in disbelief at how Sophie managed to make a style that she would normally associate with prostitutes look so... well hot! There was no other word for it really. Pulling herself back to reality with a sip of water to soothe her suddenly dry throat she busied herself with clearing the benches, even though they didn't actually need it.

'Wow, you look gorgeous!' Jamie crossed the room to give her a hug while Sophie watched Sian, unseen, over his shoulder. She hadn't seen her properly for ages and she looked tired.

Disengaging from the hug she moved over to her best friend, 'Why don't you come with us?' she offered.

'I've got loads to do tonight.' Sian didn't turn to look, too afraid of what she might do if she did especially considering her reaction not very long ago when Sophie had first come down, 'Besides I have nothing to wear!'

'There's four girls in this house now so don't give me that excuse' Sophie retorted, suddenly determined to get their friendship back on track at least, even if she couldn't have her in the way she wanted, 'If you really don't have anything, one of us will'

Dragging her upstairs by the hand followed by Rosie and Chelle to force her out with them, Sophie was happier than she had been for a long time.

* * *

It was four AM when the three girls finally came back giggling and laughing from their night out. It didn't last long as Sophie and Sian quickly excused themselves off to bed leaving Rosie alone to crash on the sofa. Moving in the dark in the unfamiliar surroundings Rosie fell over the back of the sofa, landing heavily on Jamie who had been lying in the dark to make sure they all got back ok.

'Ooops sorry!' Rosie giggled drunkenly.

Jamie laughed, 'Good night was it?' He then struggled to get out from underneath her, not helped by the fact that she had landed head first and still had her legs hanging over the back so she couldn't get the leverage to lift herself away.

Eventually they extracted themselves and Rosie went very serious, 'Not really, it was a bit weird. Normally Soph'll drink anything I give her, but she just didn't. I've seen her drink more than she did tonight in front of my Mum. Same with Sian, they just didn't seem like themselves. It was like they didn't dare get drunk'

Jamie tapped his leg thoughtfully a few times before he had a sudden lightbulb moment, 'Look they've not been right for a while, you know that, I know that, hell even Chelle knows that.'

Rosie nodded, wanting to know where he was going, 'I think I've just had an idea, but I'll need your help to pull it off. You up for that?'

'Depends on what it is!' The brunette pointed out although she could feel the excitement pouring out of the boy in front of her and she could feel herself being affected by it.

'Don't worry, it's not illegal. I can't think of why I didn't think of it before to be honest, it's dead simple' Jamie reassured her.

**I know you probably all wanted them to get together in this chapter but I didn't want it to be that easy, plus I wanted to write Rosie in!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Apologies in advance, I'm not happy with this chapter, but I just had to do it this way! Don't be too hard on me please :)**

**What I would give to own these 2 I don't know but I don't. So there :P**

Jamie explained, as best as he could, the situation to Rosie. Eventually, after about an hour and just when Jamie thought he was going to either cry or hit the brunette in frustration she began to get the hang of what he was saying, 'So, basically, you think my sister is a lesbian. She's in love with Sian. Sian is a lesbian too and is in love with my sister?' She asked, trying to get confirmation

'Give the girl a cigar!' Jamie exclaimed in relief, 'They snogged on a night out a few weeks ago but they've been avoiding each other since then. It got worse a couple of weeks ago when Soph slept on Sian's floor holding hands. So we need a plan to get them together again'

'Awww that's so cute. I love lesbian's' She spoke matter of factly with a grin on her face, 'Are you sure about it though? I'd hate it if you were wrong'

'I'm gay babe, I have an awsome gaydar, I'm not wrong' He assured her as she thought back over the last few years, trying to remember what they had been like with each other.

Finally, almost convinced, she clapped her hands together sharply and asked, 'So, what's the plan then?'

Jamie folded his legs beneath him and faced her on the sofa, 'Right, we've tried getting them on a night out but last night was that first bit of success we've had on that score but they are clearly wary of drinking too much around each other and letting too much information out. So what I'm thinking is we need to push them into talking in a different way'

'And how are we supposed to do that?' Rosie asked confused.

Jamie felt a smirk spread across his face as he began outlining his plan, 'First off. Are you coming back down for Soph's birthday next week?' Rosie nodded slowly, still puzzled and not able to see where he was going yet, 'So this is what we are going to do...'

* * *

The following morning, Jamie explained his plan to Chelle, feeling a bit like a master spy, then he went out shopping to get the essential equipment they would need Joined by Chelle as they went round various shops, they discussed logistics like old pros.

'Are you sure Rosie is even capable of carrying this out?' Chelle questioned Jamie, dragging him from one side of the market place to the other to look at a pair of shoes she wanted to buy.

'Capable?' Jamie snorted, 'From what I hear, when she puts her mind to it, she's even more devious than me! Besides, let's face it I've given her the same two very simple jobs to do that I have given you. I'm the one who's got to set everything up'

Chelle laughed at the martyred expression on his face, 'Anyone would think you had to rob a bank with a face like that! And anyway, as easy as one job is the other is not. What if the timing goes wrong?'

'If you two keep in touch properly, we won't have that problem will we?' Jamie linked his arm with Chelle's and with a touch of the drama queen about him, pulled her back on task and towards the final shop on their mission.

* * *

Back at the house, Rosie was on the hunt for painkillers, muttering and banging the kitchen cupboards as she went so it wasn't long before she was joined by a sleepy Sophie.

'They're in here' Sophie laughed, pulling out a packet from the drawer beside the fridges. 'What are you looking at me like that for?' She asked as Rosie turned to face her.

'Like what?' The brunette replied innocently. Looking at her in the fresh light of day she couldn't believe she hadn't spotted the signs before. It was so obvious to her now.

Sophie shrugged her shoulders, it was too early for her to be bothered with Rosie's thought processes yet and she dropped it quickly as she moved past her to make some toast. 'You want to tell me what's going on with you and Sian?' Rosie asked, making her sister drop the knife she was holding.

'What do you mean?' Sophie was defensive as she cleaned the floor and got a new knife, 'Nothing's going on between us.'

'Er, yeah I know that, that's why I'm asking!' Rosie pointed out like it was the most obvious thing in the world, 'You're putting way too much butter on that. You don't want to end up the size of a house'

Sophie scoffed at her sister, 'I am not going to end up the size of a house. I am naturally thin!' Grinning, she pointed the knife at herself, before waving it at Rosie, 'It's you that has to watch her calorie intake'

'Er I don't have to watch what I eat! I just care about what I put in my body that's all. My body is a temple. Just look at it!' Rosie said indignantly.

Sophie looked over at her thoughtfully, 'Well if that's what you want to believe...' She loved getting one over on her sister and this conversation was definitely making her feel better. She hadn't slept well over the last few weeks, her every waking thought had been about Sian and she needed a bit of respite from it all. Even if that meant putting up with Rosie for a few days.

The two girls spent the next half an hour pleasantly trading mild insults, just like they had for as long as either of them could remember. That was until Sophie corrected another of Rosie's dubious pronunciations, 'It's grind-stone, not groundstone durrbrain!'

'Are you calling me thick?' Rosie put her hands on her hips and pouted in outrage. How dare she?

'Well if the cap fits' Sophie smiled, happy that she had obviously won this round.

'Oh whatever' Rosie dismissed it with a look, 'At least I'm not blind to...' slapping her hands over her mouth to stop her from saying anything else she jumped up from the sofa with a look of panic on her face. Oooops, she had nearly let the cat out of the bag! Shaking her head furiously she left the room in a hurry leaving Sophie on her own trying to work out what was going on.

The confusion was heightened later that evening when she passed Jamie's room to overhear Jamie, Chelle and Rosie talking, almost in code. Standing with her ear pressed up to the door she heard Rosie speak, 'How are you planning on fitting that? I mean, do you know any DIY at all? Maybe I should get Jason to come down with me'

'No need', Jamie sounded very pleased with himself, 'There was a fit assistant in the shop and when I explained what I needed it for he offered to come and help me.'

'What are you doing?' The voice behind her was full of laughter and questions and Sophie turned to see Sian at the top of the stairs.

'They are up to something and I want to know what's going on' Sophie explained and lent against the door again. They had gone off the topic she wanted to listen to and all she could hear was Jamie gushing about the shop assistant he had met. He was currently declaring that he was in love and no-one anywhere would ever come between him and LeQuan.

'Probably something to do with you.' Sian told her, the laughter falling away as she thought about what she knew Jamie was up to, 'Jamie says he's got some bloke he thinks is perfect for you and they are trying to set you up with him.'

Sophie was disappointed at first, she didn't want a boyfriend, ever! Then her head creased as she thought of something else. She pulled Sian away from the door, 'So what do they need DIY for then?'

'DIY?' Sian queried as she walked down the stairs, 'What on Earth would they need that for? I don't think Jamie even knows what a hammer is!'

Sophie had been distracted watching Sian walk down the stairs in front of her and didn't answer straight away. In fact she only answered when the other girl turned to look at her at the bottom. 'Damned if I know! Maybe it's completely innocent'

There was a brief pause as both girls thought about that possibility. Looking at each other, they grinned, then spoke in unison, 'No way!'

'We need milk. You coming to the shop?' Sian asked when they stopped laughing, nodding her head as she grabbed her coat Sophie followed her out the door.

'So do you know who they're planning on setting me up with?' She probed her friend as they walked down the street.

Sian shrugged her shoulders, 'No idea. He won't tell me anything. All I know is that apparently he is perfect for you and you already know him'

They walked in silence after that, both lost in their own thoughts. Sian couldn't believe it but everything suddenly seemed to be ok again, she was happy when Sophie absent-mindedly linked arms with her and she felt at peace for the first time in a long time. This was where she belonged. Right here with her best friend. As much as she wanted more than that, so much more, she couldn't face her life without the girl beside her and if friendship was all she was entitled to then that would have to do.

Sophie's thoughts were pretty much the same. She still couldn't figure out why Sian had been so off with her for so long but she was glad that things seemed to be back to normal. The night out last night had obviously done the trick. The next thing that went through her head was completely off topic though. Who was this mystery guy Jamie wanted to set her up with? Whoever it was would just have to go swivel anyway!

'What are you giggling at?' Sian interrupted her thoughts, responding to a laugh Sophie hadn't even realised she'd made.

'Nothing much. Just a random thought that made no sense went through my head' Sophie replied nervously, 'That reminds me though, this guy you're after. Have you made any progress?'

Sian didn't reply, how could she really? Not with out telling her the whole truth anyway, simply because she didn't know how much longer she could keep in inside. She pulled her arm gently away from Sophie's and sighed, 'I don't know, I'm trying to stop thinking about them but I just can't'

'Why do boys have to be so flaming awkward?' Sophie groaned in agreement, trying to keep the conversation light. They were finally talking again and she didn't want to go home ever again if it meant it stayed like this. 'Look you should just tell him how you feel. Maybe he feels the same and just hasn't plucked up the courage to tell you for some reason'. Even as the words came out of her mouth, Sophie realised that that was how she felt, but why was she so scared?

'Dunno' Sian replied grumpily not really believing her, 'What about you and Mike? How are things between you two? I know he likes you.' Sian asked, trying to change the subject to one she was more comfortable talking about.

Sophie stopped walking and sat on a convenient bench on the outskirts of the local park, 'I don't know how I feel about him, he's alright I suppose' Leaning back she looked up at the sky, 'He wants to take me out for a meal on my birthday.'

'You don't sound too enthusiastic about that' Sian commented hopefully as she studied her friends face for clues. Sitting beside her as she waited for an answer, she looked into the sky as well.

'That one looks like a rocket' Sophie pointed out a cloud, avoiding the question entirely and then neatly avoided any answer as well by getting up again and walking into the shop leaving Sian to hurry after her in confusion.


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we go again, sorry it's taken so long to go up, wanted to get it right. I hope you enjoy it. Make sure you review it please!**

**I don't own either of the girls, or Rosie. The rest I do though! lol**

'Why am I not allowed in there?' Sophie asked Chelle as she stood barring her way into the living room.

The curly haired girl thought carefully for a few minutes trying to come up with an excuse but with Sophie tapping her foot impatiently she couldn't think clearly, 'Marc tipped a bucket of water over the sofa.' she finally answered.

'Oh right, I can understand that' Sophie grinned as Chelle visibly relaxed in front of her briefly before she continued, 'It's just a shame that no one stopped me from going in when Nathan pe'ed all over the floor at the party last week!' Sophie's face changed to stony, proving the lie she had been told but the curly hair began to shake from side to side in front of her, still refusing her entry.

'You best come up with a better excuse then cos my make up's in there and I'm already running late', becoming increasingly frustrated, the brunette was tempted to just push past her and get everything she needed, but in truth that wasn't in her nature so it showed in her voice, becoming higher in pitch.

Chelle threw her hands in the air, giving up, in a way at least. If there was no way she could lie then a part truth would have to do. Dropping her voice to a stage whisper she beckoned Sophie closer to her and told her, 'Look, Jamie's got a surprise for your birthday in there and he will kill me if you see it before he's ready.'

Sophie's shoulders dropped in disbelief and she shook her head slightly, 'It's my birthday today, so I can have it now can't I?'

At that point they were interrupted as Chelle was pushed forward by the door opening behind her. Sophie craned her head to look inside but she was blocked by Rosie squeezing out of the gap she had created, putting her hands on her hips she looked her sister up and down critically before speaking, 'Why aren't you ready yet?'

Pointing with one arm towards the closed door Sophie groaned, 'My make up's in there. How come everyone else can go in there but I can't?' She asked as a bloke she didn't recognise suddenly came out and went running up the stairs.

'Erm, Jamie's cut his hand open, it's disgusting. I'll get your make up, now go upstairs and get ready' Rosie pulled a face and turned Sophie away from her.

Sophie sarcastically replied, 'Don't try that one with me' but when she turned back she found her case shoved into her hand and the other two girls disappeared behind the door. The brunette set off up the stairs wondering what was going on. At the top of the stairs she spotted the unknown man who seemed to be very interested in the bathroom doorframe, confused, she knocked on Sian's door, 'Do you know what's going on downstairs?'.

'Not a clue' Sian answered leaving the door open and sitting on her bed, 'I've been banned from the living room. Something to do with rearranging the furniture'.

Sophie sighed, 'That's the third excuse I've heard so far and I don't believe any of them. I'm going to get ready, Rosie wants to take me out for a birthday drink.'

'Cool, hey how did your date with Mike go?' Sian asked as the brunette turned to leave.

Pausing in the doorway, Sophie didn't turn to reply she just shrugged her shoulders and said, 'It was ok' before she left to get ready.

With her sister not around to push her into wearing dodgy clothes it wasn't long before she was dressed and ready to go. Rosie found her half an hour later sitting staring out of the window. As sad as her baby sister looked, Rosie was excited at the thought that it wouldn't be long before she was happy again. She was even happier that she was going to be a part of that, it would probably be the best thing she had ever achieved in her life.

'Come on you' She shouted across the small room, 'Time to go birthday girl'

* * *

Across the hallway Sian heard the two girls leave, she couldn't help it, she was gutted that she hadn't been invited. Rosie normally liked as many people out with her as possible to ensure she got plenty of attention but even she didn't want her there. Had she really screwed everything up so badly? This past week had been better she had thought. Her mood was cut short when Chelle jumped on her bed, 'Time to go out!' she yelled before running back out.

Before she knew what was happening Sian found herself in a bar in the centre of town drinking a cocktail. 'Where are we again?' she asked Chelle who was being chatted up at the bar by a drunk man.

'This is Cucamara's, fantastic place to come when you need cheering up. And I think you need it. Free shot with every cocktail. Last time I came turned out pretty interesting cos of that' She walked away from the drunk guy behind her as she explained, passing her a shot. As they sat on one of the benches she continued in a low voice, 'We all got thrown out cos George projectile vomited everywhere. Don't say anything to any staff though, think I'm still banned from coming in here actually'

Sian laughed, this was just what she needed, something to take her mind off Sophie. 'How did he manage that?'

Chelle tapped their shot glasses together and they drank them in one, Sian wincing as she felt the burn go down her throat, 'Well I think the 3 bottles of red wine he drank before he came here did help a bit, I saw him down at least 10 shots though. If I can remember right he was sat about the same place as you are now. Your round now, same again please?'

As Sian payed for the drinks she glanced over to see her friend tapping furiously on her phone, sending text messages almost as quickly as she was getting them. Getting back to the table she watched the phone disappear as Chelle raised the shot glass, indicating that it was time to drink another. This one didn't burn quite as much and Sian found that she was starting to enjoy the taste a little more.

* * *

Just 10 minutes down the road, in a large club, Rosie and Sophie were dancing to the resident DJ while drinking vodka red bulls, 'You ready for another babe?' Rosie shouted above the music to her sister. Ignoring the fact that her sister had shook her head she went off to the bar again, smiling, she quickly ordered 2 drinks, making sure that her sister got a double instead of a single. While she was waiting she checked her phone, 5 messages, this was absolute chaos! She fired off replies as quick as she could, then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

'Thought I said I didn't want another drink' Sophie told her, while still accepting the glass that was put in her hand.

'It's your birthday today, you can't drink enough trust me' Rosie grinned. As they moved away, back towards the dancefloor, the barman who had served Rosie ran up behind them and tapped Sophie on her shoulder.

'Is it really your birthday?' he asked. When the two girls nodded he produced a bottle of champagne from behind his back, 'In that case, compliments of the club and happy birthday!' Rosie grabbed the bottle and shrieked her delight as well as hugging the barman making him practically run away from her as soon as she let go.

'Now we've got to stay and drink this haven't we?' She announced, dragging her sister over to a table to open the bottle. Once sat she poured some of the fizzy drink into each of their glasses, topping up what was already in there. 'Down that now' she instructed laughing as Sophie did as she was told. After sneezing a few times to clear the bubbles that had gone up her nose she leant back against the chair.

'I am feeling quite drunk now. It's been a good night but can we go home now?' She mumbled to her sister who was peering at her phone in the dark. Rosie looked up at her, the text message had told her the coast was clear and to come home so after sending a couple of replies letting everyone know how long they would be she agreed.

'As soon as we've finished this bottle we'll go'

Sophie was surprised, she had been expecting a fight. She had been ready to go home for a while already and, not wanting to give Rosie a chance to change her mind, she pulled the bottle towards her and began drinking straight from the source. As a result it wasn't long before they were in a taxi, Rosie holding Sophie in place to stop her falling everytime they turned a corner.

* * *

Ushering an almost comatose Sophie into the house a few minutes later, Rosie was confronted by Jamie who had been waiting just inside the front door for them, 'What the hell? You were only supposed to get her drunk not passed out' he whispered angrily.

'Don't blame me! The barman gave us free fizz and she practically downed the bottle. I couldn't stop her' Rosie complained, 'Are Sian and Chelle back yet?'

Jamie caught hold of Sophie as she began to fall forward and began pulling her up the stairs, 'Not yet, they'll be here any minute though. It's too late to back out now. Let's get her upstairs quickly. Actually it might work in our favour'

As the two of them finally reached the top and half pushed, half layed, Sophie in the bathroom, only just missing hitting the bath with her head, they heard the front door open and Sian shouting, 'Honey, I'm home!'

Glancing at each other as they realised how close they had been they ran down the stairs to fetch Sian. Putting on a panicky voice Rosie spoke to Sian quickly, 'Please hurry Sian I need you'

Not grasping the urgency in the older girl's voice at first she simply grinned and put her arm round her, 'What's up?'

Rosie sighed, 'It's Soph...'

That changed Sian's demeanour instantly as she got worried and she didn't let her finish, sobering up she asked, 'What's happened? Is she ok? Where is she?'

'Bathro...'

Without waiting for anything else she ran up the stairs as fast as she could, followed by Jamie. He could hear Rosie grumbling to Chelle behind him, 'Am I not allowed to finish sentences anymore?' Chuckling to himself he reached the bathroom seconds after Sian and as soon as he could he closed the door behind her, locking it securely with the padlock he had bought the previous week.

'See you in the morning you two!' He shouted through the door.

Inside the small room Sian didn't register the fact that anything out of the ordinary had even happened, she was too focused on Sophie who looked as though she was going to be quite ill all night. Looking around her she spotted two clean glasses on the sink. Getting up, making sure that Sophie wasn't going to fall over she went to fill one with water. As she picked it up, she noticed they had been placed on top of a folded sheet of paper, picking it up she read it carefully.

_We have had enough of you two messing us about. We know that you two are meant_

_ to be together. You need to stop arguing and deal with it, so we have locked the_

_ door from the outside and you are not coming out until everything is sorted. _

_ There is a duvet and pillows for both of you in the bath, drinks and sandwiches are_

_ under the sink for when you need them. _

_ We love you both too much to pretend anymore, we have all tried our best to get you_

_ together before and it didn't work so now it's up to you._

_ Love ya!_

_ Jamie, Rosie and Chelle_

_ xxxxxxxxxxx_

_ P.S. You love us really (Or you will when you forgive us anyway!)_

Sian knew it was true, they needed to sort things out, but could it be true that she could be loved back? Kneeling beside Sophie she told her what was going on, took a deep breath and spoke very carefully, 'I think I love you Soph. Not just as a friend and I need to know what you think about that'

Sophie looked up to ask the question that had been plaguing her for the past few weeks, 'Why didn't you tell me before then?'

Holding just the tips of Sophie's fingers she answered, 'I was scared, scared you would reject me, scared of my feelings I suppose'

'Yeah but you know me, even if I didn't... I would never reject you' Sophie reassured her, 'That's not me!'

Sian bit her lip, hope flooding her, and looked closely at the brunettes blue eyes, 'Does that mean...?'

Sophie smiled, feeling warm everywhere, like she had been plunged into a warm bath, 'I love you too, of course I do'. She leant forward, grasping a firmer hold of Sian's hands before she pressed a kiss to Sian's lips.

When they finally broke apart a few minutes later Sian giggled, 'Are you going to remember this kiss now?' Sophie looked puzzled at that so the blonde continued, 'We kissed on a night out ages ago, that's when it started for me'

'You'll just have to keep reminding me then won't you!' Sophie teased pulling her closer for another kiss. As she did, Sian bent her arm over the side of the bath to grab the duvet and pillows.

Arranging themselves comfortably on the floor, cuddling in as close as they could, not wanting to let go of each other just yet, 'You do know Jamie is going to be seriously smug about this don't you?' Sian pointed out.

'I know' Sophie groaned gently, 'Unless...'

'What?' the blonde asked as a mischievous look spread over her girlfriends face.

'Can you keep a secret?'

**Fun fact: there's a few true life drinking stories in here! lol**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for all the reviews, they mean so much to me! Sorry it's taken a while to update again, my dog decided to knock my laptop to the floor and it's bust the screen. I had to type the whole thing with one hand cos the other one was trying to hold the screen at an angle which meant I could see what I was doing! If anyone knows how to fix it please let me know lol**

**I own nothing but I hope you enjoy it.**

'Can you hear anything?' Rosie asked as she waited with Jamie and Chelle outside the bathroom door the next morning. Jamie pressed his ear against the door and shook his head.

'It's all calm, I think it's safe to open the door.' he grinned as he pulled a key out of his pocket to unlock the padlock. The trio gathered in closely to see the results of their hard work as the door opened slowly and as quietly as Jamie could manage.

Peering over shoulders and through arms they were surprised by what they saw, both girls were fast asleep but they weren't where they had expected them to be. Sian was clearly uncomfortable in the bath and Sophie was curled around the base of the toilet using a towel to keep her warm. It didn't even look like they had even spoken at all, or even read the note that had been left for them.

They left the bathroom quickly, leaving it unlocked, already trying to work out what had gone wrong, Jamie felt that it was Rosie's fault for getting Sophie too drunk to talk, Chelle just thought the whole idea had been stupid in the first place and let Jamie know how she felt by thumping him roughly in the ribs. Rosie being Rosie was simply bemused by the whole thing and spent most of their ardent discussion staring into space.

A few minutes after they left Sian's head popped up from the bath and she whispered to the girl on the floor, 'Have they gone?'

Sophie turned to look at her and nodded, smiling, before gripping her head in her hands, 'Ow that hurt!'

Sian pulled herself over the side of the bath and gathered her girlfriend into her arms. Wow, that was weird! Absolutely fantastic yes, but still weird. She looked down at the brunette and kissed her softly on her head, 'It's your own fault you know, you shouldn't have drank so much last night!' she admonished gently. Laughing at the dirty look she got in return she continued, 'Don't worry I'll look after you. Forever.'

Sophie snuggled in deeper, happy to stay there for as long as she could, 'Really? Forever?' she asked getting a nod in return, 'In that case get me a drink of water please? I think I'm going to die of thirst'

Standing up to get the water the blonde allowed her to fall to the floor, 'How long do you think we can keep this up? Cos as much fun as I think this is going to be, the way I feel right know I want to go to the nearest rooftop and shout as loud as I can, tell as many people as I can that I love you, that your mine.'

Sophie pulled herself into a sitting position, wrapping her arms round her knees, 'Me too, but I think those three deserve a taste of their own medicine don't you? Besides, it might be fun to see what else they come up with to get us together.' Grasping the proffered glass of water she drank half of it in one go and gave a relieved sigh.

'That is seriously Machiavellian. Remind me never to piss you off then' Sian smirked, 'I'm starving, time to go have words and get something to eat I think.'

Sophie's face fell at the thought of food, 'Not me, I'm going back to bed for a bit.' She tried to stand but her balance was still dodgy and she almost fell over. Luckily for her Sian caught her and supported her while she found her feet. 'I swear down, I am never drinking again' she groaned.

'If it means you are going to fall at my feet, I will make sure you drink again.' Sian teased.

The two girls eased their way out of the bathroom, making sure that no one was around before scurrying back to Sophie's room. Sophie sank gratefully under the covers and layed her head on the pillows. As Sian tucked her in she grabbed hold of her top and pulled her down towards her. Looking into her icy blue eyes she spoke as slowly and clearly as she could, 'I love you, now and forever'. To be doubly sure the message got through she kissed her thoroughly, leaving both of them breathless.

It took Sian a few minutes to gather herself before she could do anything else and by the time she could Sophie's eyes had closed. Leaving the room she briefly went back to the bathroom to put the glass back on top of them note in the same place they had replaced it earlier that morning. As she reached the door to the living room she could hear an argument on the other side of the door. Taking a deep breath she stormed in. 'Who's bright idea was that? I have have spent the entire night taking care of that stupid cow upstairs because you lot thought it would be a good idea to play a practical joke on us. It's not funny and it's not clever, she has been seriously ill.'

'I, erm…' Jamie stumbled over his words, looking wildly at the other two for help. Neither of them quite knew how to respond and Rosie did the only thing she could think of, she got up and crossed the room. Attempting to reassure the blonde that it wasn't all bad by putting her hand on her shoulder was simply shrugged off with another tirade from the furious blonde.

'You lot had better go upstairs now and sort her out cos I don't want anything to do with her again. Or you, that was cruel and underhanded.' Sian shouted, even though she was smiling inside.

'Didn't you get the note we left you?' Chelle spoke softly, trying not to antagonize her any further.

Sian snorted, 'Note? No I did not. And anyway do you honestly think it would be ok to lock us in a bathroom all night if you left a note? I should get you done for false imprisonment' She threw her hands in the air and almost growled at them, before stalking into the kitchen. Laughing quietly to herself as soon as she was out of earshot she couldn't believe what she had just said, or the looks on their faces. Sophie was right, keeping their relationship a secret was well worth it for this. Well as long as it didn't have to go on for too long anyway!

* * *

Rosie crept upstairs, mentally kicking herself for letting herself get talked into the crazy scheme a complete stranger had randomly suggested. She glanced into the bathroom to see that it was empty before moving on to her sister's bedroom. Watching her sleep, curled in the middle of the bed, she felt more guilty than she had ever felt in her life. She leant over the bed and shook her awake, 'Do you need anything babe?'

'Leave me alone Rosie' Sophie groaned, trust Rosie to wake her up right at the best bit of a wonderful dream. Her and Sian, alone, on a sandy beach somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Possibly even on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. Strangely they had had a dwarf dressed a bottle of tequila as a waiter but he had just provided them with an ipod full of their favourite songs and disappeared. Sian had got up to dance... and Rosie had appeared!

Rosie didn't leave and Sophie pushed herself upright, 'What the hell were you thinking last night? What a birthday present eh? Being stuck in a bathroom all night being sick with that ….. I can't even begin to think of a word to describe her at the minute. All I know is it was horrible.'

Rosie sat on the edge of the bed, 'We thought it was for the best. What happened that was so bad?'

'I don't want to talk about it. Ever. Just know that I am really going to struggle to forgive you for this. You just wait until I tell Mum' Sophie threatened.

Rosie's eyes widened in fear, 'Oh my God, please don't tell Mum, she's going to kill me.' she caught hold of her sister's hand, grasping it inbetween both of her hands in a prayer like gesture. 'It's not my fault anyway, it was Jamie's idea.'

Pulling her hand away Sophie looked angrily at her sister, 'Oh of course it wasn't your fault, it never is. Did it not occur to you to challenge him? To stop him? No, you thought it would be more fun to hurt me.' She jumped out of bed and started to leave the room, 'Look, I won't tell Mum, but you best make it up to me'

Promising that she would be a willing slave for as long as it took Rosie gave her sister a bear hug and pulled her downstairs. Passing the bathroom it was obvious that Jamie and Chelle had been busy in her absence as it was once again tidy with no evidence that anyone had spent the night in there.

Rosie stopped sharply when she entered the living room as she saw Sian sitting on the sofa eating a couple of slices of toast, 'Erm... I'm going to the kitchen' she said nervously and hurried into the next room.

Sophie and Sian looked at each other briefly before smiling as Sophie went over and kissed her swiftly. The blonde smiled and spoke quietly, 'You've recovered a bit then?'

'A bit. Not that I had much choice with Rosie around anyway' Sophie agreed, dropping her voice to virtually nothing she continued, feeling shy, 'Listen, do you fancy going out tonight?'

Sian smiled, 'What? Like on a date?'

'Erm, yeah. I thought maybe a film, then go for something to eat maybe,' Sophie replied, the shyness seeping away at her girlfriends obvious happiness at the idea.

Unable to get a reply as they heard Rosie trying to come back into the living room, Sophie rushed across the room and made out she was staring out of the window. In reality she couldn't help watching Sian in the reflection. Trying to catch her eye she smiled as soon as she realised the blonde was watching her reflection too. Once Rosie had passed by her shoulder Sian carefully mouthed, 'I will text you. I love you.'

Sian stood up, 'I have had enough of this, I am going up to my room. Don't you dare follow me' She muttered in the two sisters direction. She walked past them, too close for Sophie to be able to resist pinching her bum even though Rosie was standing just inches away from them. Sophie was impressed when Sian didn't even break stride as she left and Rosie didn't notice as she was too worried about her sister's mood.

Almost as soon as Sian left Sophie got a text, _Ill get u bak 4 tht u no! 7Pm outside the cinema? Luv u xxx_

She had completely forgotten about Rosie in seconds and settled herself on the sofa to reply, _I hope so! fine by me. Gunna tll em im going out w girls frm my course wbu? Luv u 2 xxx_

_lol think I mite say im on a d8. Scare em a bit luv u more xxx_

_luv it! bt theres no chance u luv me more I promise xxxxxxxxxxxx :p_

Rosie watched as her baby sister smiled. At least something was making her happy! When her final text was sent Sophie smiled sweetly at her her sister, 'I'm going to go get ready, I'm off out tonight and don't think your coming, not after last night.'

**Btw, if anyone has any ideas that Jamie can come up with to 'get Sophie and Sian together' please PM me, I can't think of anything at the moment!**


	13. Update

I would like to apologise to anyone who wanted the next chapter of this story. The last few months have been really difficult for me and I have had neither the time nor the energy to write anything.

Things seem to be settling down again now and I am working on the next chapter as of now, please bear with me and hopefully I will have a nice long chapter with you in the next couple of days!

Thankyou to everyone who has commented on this story in the past, it really does mean a lot to me.


	14. Chapter 13

**Thank you all for your patience, I was hoping to have this up on Monday night but for various reasons I was distracted and this is the first chance I have had to finish!**

**Hopefully it is good enough that no one will hunt me down! But, good or bad, whatever you think please let me know, it means a hell of a lot to me.**

**A final thing, now that I am back up and running, I promise to update this story more often!**

'Oh idea!' Sian shouted, making Sophie jump as they sat at the table eating their dinner, 'We could have a massive argument over what we're going to have for tea tonight'

Sophie giggled, 'That's insane babe we both like the same food so no ones going to believe it'

Sian widened her eyes, making her look a touch manic, 'OK so instead we fight over who's going to cook and then we could throw food at each other, wouldn't that be fun?'

'And scary'

The blonde took hold of her girlfriends hands over the table, excitement taking over, 'Can you imagine their faces though? Plus they'll leave us alone for a bit to calm down and that means we get the whole night together for a change.' Her tone changed as she got serious, 'I mean I miss you, this is great and all but they are always-' here she paused to roll her eyes, 'bugging us trying to get us together.' She shrugged her shoulders gently and gave her best puppy dog impression in an attempt to be persuasive.

Sophie's whole body visibly sagged as she gave in, how could she argue against spending more time with the love of her life. That would be like trying to convince someone that the sky was, in fact, florescent purple with green poker dots. She leant over to kiss her girlfriend sweetly on the lips but that was something they hadn't managed yet and it quickly turned into a full on snog session on the sofa, only stopping when they heard a key turning in the lock on the front door.

'Love you' Sian whispered before exiting the room. As she left she had one final surprise in store, making sure that Jamie could see her she turned her head over her shoulder and practically screamed across the room, 'COW!' before winking and running up the stairs.

'Are you ok?' Jamie asked, concerned about what he had just seen, no matter what Chelle and he had tried over the last week the two girls seemed to be determined to not even talk to each other again let alone anything else and he was starting to feel defeated by something for the first time in his life.

Sophie nodded in his general direction, struggling to keep a straight face and knowing she probably wouldn't be able to do anything else without bursting into hysterical laughter. He assumed she was unable to answer because she was too upset to talk so he crossed over to her, grabbing the box of tissues on the side as he went, 'Look at me' he insisted.

After taking a long steadying breath Sophies clear blue eyes raised to meet worried brown eyes. 'I don't know what has gone on between the two of you, 'Jamie began honestly, 'but whatever it is, surely it can't be so bad that you can't work it out.'

'Maybe if you told me what's happened I could talk to her for you?' He asked hopefully, mostly because he genuinely wanted to help them but partly, if he was honest with himself, he was also nosy!

The brown haired girl shook her head violently, indicating she didn't want to talk and Jamie, still oblivious to the fact that she hadn't yet managed to speak a word during their whole conversation put his arms around her giving her a bear hug. Sophie wrapped her slender arms round his back and put her head on his shoulder. Suddenly she was feeling guilty about deceiving him and she wasn't 100% sure why.

As they stood there, she made her mind up, no matter what Sian said they were going to come clean tomorrow morning. It had to be tomorrow, she had seen the blonde's face light up when she thought of this evenings food fight and she couldn't take that away from her, besides she'd sort of been looking forward to it herself.

* * *

A couple of hours and enough text messages to double their phone companies yearly bonuses they were ready. Both girls were dressed in grey trackie bottoms and simple t-shirts, Sophie wore light blue and Sian baby pink. They had thought very carefully and worked out it would be bast to wear clothes that weren't going to end up see through or ones that meant they would be upset if they got ruined. For the same reason they both had their hair up in ponytails.

Sophie walked into the kitchen, interrupting Jamie and Chelle who were deep in conversation at the table, 'I'm sorry for getting so upset earlier... It's just hard you know' she explained, 'I'll make tea tonight to make it up to you, spag bol OK?'

She was glad that no one would actually eat this because she wasn't entirely confident about her cooking abilities, her Dad always said it was fantastic but he was supposed to say that wasn't he? She turned the radio up which had been on low unusually and half listened to the DJ talking as she gathered the ingredients together.

'Next up, a classic from 1986, The Beastie Boys with You've gotta fight for the right to party...' the radio announced and she began to sing along, finding it funny as she thought about the irony of the lyrics and video.

As she got on with heating the sauce up Jamie pulled Chelle over and whispered in her ear, 'Something's not right, she's been depressed for weeks then suddenly she's, I don't know, the happiest woman on the planet! Any ideas?'

Chelle pulled a face, knowing she probably wasn't the best person to ask. Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye she nodded towards the door of the kitchen, 'Trouble' she muttered.

Spinning round quickly on his heels, Jamie saw Sian standing nervously at the entrance, 'Thought I'd make dinner tonight'.

He shuffled his feet, unsure of what to say, 'Urm...'

'I've already started so tough' Sophie spat from behind them.

'Yeah well I'm better at cooking than you'

'So?'

'So they'll prefer mine then won't they?'

'No they won't you stupid cow'

'Bitch'

'Slag'

As the insults flew across the kitchen faster and faster Jamie and Chelle felt like they were at a tennis match where the opponents were both losing.

Chelle bounced into the middle of them,. 'Stop shouting will you!' she pleaded futilely.

When they simply ignored her and carried on Jamie decided to have a go, 'Look...'

He knew immediately that he had made a mistake when both of them turned on him instead, 'What? Why are you butting in? It's your fault all this so tell me what is your ingenious plan?' Sian spoke menacingly as she crept towards him.

'Pushing in where you're not wanted' Sophie backed her up, finding herself enjoying the look of terror on Jamie's face.

He desperately tried to calm them down, but, unable to find the right words just stuttered in response, 'I... urm... sorry... I don't know... I just... I'm really sorry I honestly don't know what I was thinking.' he looked over to Chelle, hoping that she would jump in to help, but she looked just as stunned as he felt at how quickly the tide had turned on him.

'I don't care what you were thinking, you ruined the best friendship I ever had' The truth in the words that the blonde girl furiously declared was obvious to everyone, hurting Sophie in the process until the thought that, yes, she was no longer just 'friends' with Sian, but she had so much more than that with her now flashed through her mind. That brought a brief smile to her face, consciously snatched away as soon as it appeared, before anyone saw.

'Screw this, I am cooking' Sian concluded and hurried over to the fridge, expectantly waiting for the first assault from her girlfriend. Her girlfriend who was currently staring into space thinking intently about the future and all the promises it held for them.

Opening the fridge unchallenged unsettled her slightly, turning she attempted to provoke a response, 'Oi! That alright with you madam?'

Exhilarated inside, but trying not to show it Sophie spoke without thinking, 'Yeah fine, just make sure you're not using onions, your face will make them cry!' The room froze at the harshness of the brunettes outright attack. Fearing suddenly that she had gone too far Sophie made a small movement towards the older girl, who was still stood completely stationary in front of the open fridge.

For a few moments the tension built in the air and it felt to Sophie that there were only two people in the world, both stood in that small kitchen. She could do nothing but plead with her eyes that she hadn't meant it, earnestly praying as she did that the message would get through.

Then she saw it, the blue eyes she had been watching so carefully changed, almost imperceptibly, but knowing her so well she knew exactly what it meant. She saw a realisation which changed quickly to love. She was so relieved she missed the twinkling that accompanied a look of fearlessness.

'Ow!' She exclaimed as less than a second later as an egg came flying, seemingly out of nowhere, right on top of her head. Wiping the cold goo out of her eyes with bottom of her t-shirt, temporarily distracting the blonde as she caught a glimpse of her girlfriends taught midriff before inspecting the kitchen for the nearest thing she could throw herself.

Buoyant at her accuracy Sian raised both her arms in the air, she couldn't make that shot again if she tried. It was as she stood like that when she was hit with a chopped tomato Sophie had fished out of an open tin on the bench. 'That means war!' she declared, smirking. Delving back into the fridge she grabbed handfuls of eggs, the red and brown sauce, which she placed in her pockets for later and the squirty cream before diving behind the counter for protection.

In response Sophie stocked up on flour, a carton of pre made custard, a couple of tins of mushy peas and a tin opener, hiding on the floor on the other side of the counter she feverishly began to open the tins. As she did Sian crept on the counter over her head and squirted cream down the back of her top before retreating as the brunette squealed and arched her back.

The other two occupants of that small room pulled back incredulously watching as missiles began to fly backwards and forwards regularly. Standing up for another assault the brunette spotted the two of them standing in shock and that small but persistent part of her brain that often made her do stupid things clicked into gear. Deliberatively she threw a handful of peas in their direction while simultaneously pouring a large quantity of custard over the blondes hair.

Disappearing from sight again she was unable to see whether she had hit her target, her girlfriend, on the other hand could and she laughed, in the seconds before the custard blocked her vision at the hilarious sight of the bright green peas sliding down Jamie's face.

Jamie wasn't by nature a timid man and he reacted speedily with the salad cream Sian had missed in the fridge squarely into Sophie's face. The tiles on the floor were getting very slippy now and Sophie got carefully to her feet and tipped flour over his head, joined quickly by three eggs thrown by Sian. Despite the fact the she was supposed to be fighting with her she couldn't stand idly by and had to defend her girlfriend! If needs be she could always claim ignorance and thought she was aiming for Sophie anyway.

With the sheer volume of 'ex food' on the floor there was no longer any need to hunt for projectiles, instead they simply cupped it off the floor to throw, mostly without looking in the direction they were aiming for.

All three were by now so thoroughly occupied with one-upmanship they didn't notice Chelle creeping off towards the front door.

'WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!' An red faced, glowering man stood before them, vein pulsing in his forehead.

Startled, all the action stopped immediately, 'Dad!' Sian whispered.


	15. Chapter 14

**Here we go again!**

**This chapter is shorter than I normally write and I am sorry but it is a heavy one and I got a bit of writers block and just couldn't do any more!**

**Hopefully you'll all like it anyway**

'What are you doing here?' Sian spoke in barely more than a whisper, trying to discretely wipe the goo out of her face. She stood shaking with fear as her Dad stood in front of her, his dark brown eyes fierce with anger.

For just a moment his lips tightened so much they disappeared before he spoke, quietly but with a threat in his tone that scared his daughter more than if he had shouted, 'I got a temporary contract just outside of town and I thought I'd come and visit my only child. See how hard she was working on the University course I am paying for'

'We were just... just...' The blonde girl sputtered out an attempt at an explanation, but she felt lost and couldn't form any clear thoughts, let alone words. She looked wildly around the room at the three statues her friends and girlfriend had become.

Sophie couldn't bear the pain that shot through her heart as she watched her almost shrink before her eyes. Taking half a step forward, she mustered up some confidence from somewhere to finish the sentence, 'Just blowing off some steam, Sian's been working seriously hard Mr Powers I promise.'

'You can just shut up now, she was just fine here last year till you turned up. Freak.' he seethed though clenched teeth, jabbing a finger in her direction without actually turning to look at her, 'You, go and get yourself cleaned up lady, we are going to talk'. He directed the last comment at his daughter.

Sian bowed her head and rushed out of the door, tears forming in her eyes as she fled, thoughts rushing round her head. Stumbling to a stop just inside the bathroom she crumpled, dropping to the floor and letting the tears fall. All her life she'd never been able to make her Dad proud of her, constantly doing wrong in his eyes, at least until she'd got into Uni and now she'd screwed that up too.

She'd thought, obviously mistakenly, that she was stronger person now. Become a woman, someone who would be able to stand up for herself, but, faced with his anger she had reverted to type. A scared child cowering in fear. Memories flashed before her eyes of her childhood and she felt like she couldn't breath.

What was she going to do? Building a life for herself here had been like a dream come true, everything had been going so well. She'd almost been able to forget her Dad's constant snide remarks to her, his actions, begun to heal herself she supposed. Sophie had been a massive part of that of course and she kicked herself mentally for not defending her when he had been so cruel.

She could hear movements downstairs as the others presumably began the clean up, and, feeling guilty that they were doing all that work she pulled herself up and began the long process of cleaning the sticky and congealed mess covering her.

* * *

Sian had been right, the kitchen was being cleared as quickly as possible, the trio being watched like a hawk by the older man, now stood with his arms folded aggressively. He was the only one to break the silence, occasionally muttering things under his breath that no one could hear clearly and no one wanted him to repeat.

Sophie was working on auto pilot, Sian had never been keen on talking about either of her parents but she knew enough from the small snippets she had managed to prise out of her in the past that neither of them could be named as parents of the year. It had only been in the last few weeks, since they had begun their relationship that the blonde had truly started to open up. Show her more than she had ever thought possible.

Sian's face was as clear in her minds eye as if she was still there and the brunette shook briefly with rage as she recognised the fear in the brilliant blue eyes when she had been confronted. It had reminded her of a young child who believed that the bogeyman was going to come after her every night.

Repressing the desire to smack that look off Mr Powers face wasn't easy and was getting harder every second that he remained watching them but she also knew that would only make the situation worse and so she shoved it away, trying to scrub the counter as hard as she could, as though she could scrub the thought out of her head at the same time.

Somewhere lost behind her she heard Jamie asking Sian's Dad a question. She hadn't heard the question, too lost in trying to not go mental but she heard his response as it rang out clearly in the quietness, making her freeze in her tracks.

'No I don't, I know your type and I don't want a bloody thing off you'

'My type?' Jamie's voice was icy as he contemplated every possible meaning there could be behind the older man's words.

'Poof'. That one word, spoken with so much disgust, made Sophie's heart skip a beat and she felt like her body temperature had dropped instantly by at least 10 degrees.

Pushing herself away from the counter she forced her body to turn to face the two men. The tension raised noticeably as she did and she looked on in disbelief as Jamie challenged Sian's Dad despite him being at least a foot shorter in height and nowhere near as heavily set.

Steeling his jaw Jamie went chest to chest with Mr Powers, 'I'm sorry,' he said, pseudo politely, gently tipping his head to one side, 'I didn't quite catch that, would you mind repeating yourself?'

'I said poof,' he sneered, pushing his face closer to Jamie's, 'You make me sick'

'You do not know a thing about me. Mate. So I'd be very careful what you said to me in the future' Jamie snarled, making his hands into fists as he spoke.

'Trust me, I am no 'mate' of yours.' Mr Powers grimaced at the thought which obviously he hataed.

'Dad!' Sian interrupted just then, fresh from having a shower, her hair was still damp. He strode over to her, a sour look on his face, caught her by the elbow as he went and dragged her from the room.

* * *

'He is one scary bloke' Chelle broke the tension, giggling with relief.

Jamie caught sight of Sophie and motioned to the curly haired girl to leave. She was stood gazing into nothing, brow furrowed.

'Soph? What's wrong hun?' He spoke gently, not wanting to scare her any more than she was already.

Nothing.

'Let's get you cleaned up shall we?' He encouraged her to walk out of the room with him and she offered no resistance but no sign that she understood either. Upstairs he ran a bath while the brunette watched unseeing, unmoving..

In reality she knew what was happening, but it was like she could do nothing to stop it or change it in any way. She was so scared about what might happen. Not for herself, but for Sian and their future they had begun to plan. The vicious way he had reacted to Jamie's sexuality added to the few stories she knew of and the way he had practically shoved her girlfriend out of the house frightened her. What was he going to do to her? She had seen the scars.

Sophie eventually came to when the bathwater had gone cold, shivering, she climbed out and wrapped a towel around herself. Tucking it in so it wouldn't fall down she went back to her room to find fresh clothes laid out on her bed.

As she got dressed she listened carefully to find out if Sian was back yet but she couldn't hear anything. When she finally made it downstairs she could hear low murmurs coming from the kitchen and she braced her shoulders before she entered.

'Well that was an interesting end to the evening!' Sophie plastered a smile on her face when she saw Jamie and Chelle standing next to the kettle in the now immaculate kitchen.

They both started slightly at the unexpected interruption. 'Hey sweetie. Are you ok?' Chelle asked concernedly waving a bottle of something alcoholic as she did.

The younger girls bravery faltered slightly at the sight of how worried they were and she took a moment to compose herself again. It was more important than ever to keep quiet now, at least until she had spoken to Sian. 'Yeah I'm fine. What is that?' She nodded towards the bottle, 'actually, never mind, just hand it over.'

Chelle passed it over reluctantly ans Sophie took a large swig, wincing as the burn hit the back of her throat. 'Needed that.' she gasped, 'Think we need to make a night of it!'

Despite her insistence to all and sundry that they were going to get absolutely plastered it was something she found she was incapable of actually achieving. As a result the following morning found Sian still out and Sophie wearing a hole in the carpet of the living room as she paced up and down barely talking to anyone. All four of the other occupants of the house weren't sure what they could do to help. Occasionally one would suggest she went to bed, had a rest but it just wasn't in her.


	16. Chapter 15

**First off, sorry for the delay, I had this chapter almost written and my laptop decided to give up the ghost so I had to use a different one and start again from scratch!**

**Second, I had a slightly different direction in mind for this story but seeing as the last chapter didn't seem to go down to well I've decided to try this, so please let me know what you think.**

A full week had gone by and there was still no sign of Sian. Sophie had reluctantly gone to some of her lectures, but only the ones that Jamie had pushed her into attending. The rest of her time had been spent sitting at the bottom of the stairs staring into space, watching the front door. Every time someone entered the house her crystal blue eyes flashed with hope and she briefly lifted herself from her position before settling back down to wait.

'Here, have a sandwich' Jamie thrust a plate in her face as he spoke, 'I'm going out and I don't want you sitting there when I get back.' He admonished gently, knowing that there wasn't a hope in hell that she would move until the blonde had returned. Even though Sophie hadn't really said much in the past week it was obvious to everyone in the house that her reaction to Sian's disappearance wasn't that of just a friend, or an enemy as the two of them had been pretending. As happy as he was that some plan of his had worked he couldn't stand the pain his friend was now going through. In fact he had begun to wish he hadn't interfered at all.

Some time later, Sophie wasn't sure how long, the door creaked open in front of her. Once again she raised herself off the step slightly. Almost as soon as she had she glimpsed a small amount of long blonde hair in the gap and she flung her whole body towards the door flipping the plate and sandwich onto the carpet. Whipping it open she saw Sian standing nervously on the door step.

'I'm back' Sian stated, as if it wasn't already monumentally clear. Sophie paused for only a moment before dragging her into the house, closing the door behind her with her foot she began to kiss Sian's lips, cheeks, eyelids, ears, in fact every part of her face she could reach comfortably.

Laughing Sian eventually managed to pull away from the attack of affection, 'Miss me then?' She asked.

'Course I did you daft bint' Sophie pouted, 'What happened?'

'Well...' Sian began, grinning from ear to ear, 'My dad wanted me to stay with him, he's working in Arnold for the next six months by the way, till he found me somewhere else to stay-'

'He can't do that!' Sophie practically yelled as she interrupted her girlfriends story.

'It was something to do with wanting to get me away from this house and the 'horrible children in it'.' She waved her fingers in the air indicating quotation marks as she put on a pretty sarcastic, but accurate, impression of her dad.

'So...' The brunette was impatient and she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she encouraged her to continue.

'I stood up to him' Sian finished simply her shoulders going up and down once, 'I told him I was an adult now and he couldn't tell me what to do any more. If he wanted me in his life then he had to respect my choices and I was going home.'

Stunned, Sophie just stood with her mouth gaping. Knowing at least part of her history she hadn't even imagined this outcome as being a possibility.

'It was you, you know, you gave me the courage to do that. If I was still with Ryan,' here Sian grimaced as she paused, 'Then I wouldn't have been able to do it, but I can't live without you.' She confessed, putting her arms out for a hug.

Sophie ran through the implications of that statement in her head. Could she possibly be that lucky? What on earth had she done to deserve to even have the most gorgeous, best girl in her life, let alone let her fall in love with her. AND she had stood up to her Dad to be with her. She felt rather than saw Sian watching her for her reaction and she knew she should say, or do, something but she couldn't make anything work, she was too happy.

That was new, usually no matter what happened her mouth ran away from her and she would find herself saying the worst possible thing with no regard for the consequences. She found herself quite liking the change, the more mature her, as she dreamily began to think about the future and what that might now entail.

The brunette still hadn't said a word, moved, or given any indication that she was aware anything had been said. It had been long enough that Sian was starting to worry, had she come on too strong? After all they had only been a couple for a matter of weeks and she had basically told her that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. Oh My God! Had she taken it as a proposal? Not that she would mind, of course not but she was only 19, she wasn't ready, was she? Her mind was suddenly filled with a vision of Soph in a long white wedding dress and a heat filled her. Not a bad heat, more a warmness pulsing out to every cell in her body.

Snapping back to reality Sian tapped her girlfriend on the side of her head, 'Hello? Anyone in there?' she laughed as Sophie started back to the present.

'I can't believe you would do that for me' Sophie said wondrously.

'Of course I would, you're the most perfect person I have ever met in my life, well, maybe not perfect.' Sian amended herself thoughtfully, teasing the younger girl with a gentle smile, 'In all seriousness, I love you, I never thought I'd be lucky enough to fall in love with my best friend let alone have you love me back with even a tenth of what I feel for you. It's worth it, easy.'

Sophie took her girlfriends words as an excuse to launch herself across the floor for what she clearly intended to be the world's longest snogging session. For a few minutes there was silence as two sets of hands explored, as two tongues battled for domination although neither owner really cared about who would win because they both believed they already had.

After what seemed like an eternity, and yet no time at all at the same time, Sian reluctantly pulled away, 'I have been stuck inside my Dad's bedsit all week, lets go out.'

'Sure, where?'

'Anywhere, I don't care as long as I'm with you. And outside.' Sian added as an after thought.

'Beer garden' Sophie decided, 'We need to celebrate'

* * *

Dusk was beginning to settle, blue skies changing slowly to reds and oranges as Jamie let himself into the house later. Confused at first, he was sure he hadn't locked the door when he left, there had been no need, not with Sophie in the mood she had been all week. Tripping over the upturned plate that was still on the floor he grew more puzzled, 'Soph? Sophie?' He called checking each room as he went but there was no sign of her.

He pulled out his phone as he went, ringing at various intervals, but there was no answer. He found the reason for that as soon as he headed upstairs, hearing the familiar ringtone coming from her room he knocked on the door. First gently and then more insistently until he began to bang so loudly that he pulled Chelle from her room.

'She's out.' The curly haired girl stated matter-of-factly, unconcernedly she gnawed at her fingernails, 'I need to go to the nail salon' she muttered, half to herself.

'What?' Jamie questioned, one eyebrow raised, 'You're worried about your nails?'

'Yeah, look at them.' Chelle stuck one hand out in front of him like it was already obvious.

'Are you not worried about Soph? Maybe she's given up waiting and gone and done something stupid!' Jamie exclaimed in exasperation.

'Or maybe she's decided that doing nothing isn't working and she ought to go and look for her,' Chelle explained her thinking with a roll of her eyes, 'She's a big girl now, she'll be fine.'

Feeling a touch patronised Jamie didn't bother replying and turned on his heels, pulling a full strop as he stomped his way down the stairs.

Still at the top of the stairs Chelle could hear the sounds of Jamie apparently trying to demolish the kitchen, she shook her head as a soft grin graced her features. He could be such a man sometimes! Overprotective and stupid. Following him at a jog to try and save him from ruining his favourite room in the house, something she knew he'd regret if he actually managed it, she ran through other possibilities in her mind.

'Maybe Sian came back and they've gone out'

Jamie smashed the pan he had been waving randomly in the air, as he muttered angry words, onto the cooker top making Chelle wince at the sound, and possible damage, 'No way.' he announced, sure of himself 'they have got to know that we would want to know Sian was OK, no way would they not have told us, sent a text or something.'

A deep breath and he settled himself a little, switching the kettle on he pulled out a couple of mugs, avoiding the chipped ones hiding at the back of the cupboard. 'I guess we just have to wait though'

* * *

Four AM and Jamie and Chelle were still waiting. Except now they had been joined by Marc and Mike, all four sitting on the settee nursing hot drinks and not talking. They hadn't actually spoken in around 3 hours since a very heated discussion about calling the police. Jamie and Marc had been for and the other two against, believing they knew Sophie better right now.

Luckily for them they didn't have to wait much longer as the sounds of very loud, very drunk out of key singing began to reach them from the street, rushing to the window they saw two girls, one blonde, one brunette, each with one arm in the the air, the other arm wrapped around the others waist slowly weaving up the street.

Stopping briefly under one of the street lights the Sophie turned her face to the night sky and sang, badly, at the top of her voice '_Lets try to remember these days back in December, Our lives were very different, I was lonely when we first met'_

Sian giggled, 'Shush, Soph, people are trying to sleep!'

It didn't deter her girlfriend though, if anything it made her sing louder as she sang the next part of the song she could remember through her drink addled brain, '_You don't have to speak because I can hear your heartbeat, Fluttering like butterflies searching for a drink, You don't have to cover up __how you feel when your in love_'

She shut up then as Sian did the only thing she she had left in her arsenal and kissed her. Sophie leaned in and kissed her back, trying to put all her feelings into that moment.

'Oi!' The shout came out of the blue and with the volume of alcohol in their systems affecting their balance they could do nothing about falling into the road. Sprawled on the floor they squinted into the darkness to see if they could spot where the shout had come from, living in a cul-de-sac as they did the shout had echoed off every service and they were looking in the wrong direction when the angry voice next spoke.

'Where the hell have you two been?' Jamie asked angrily.

Turning their wobbly heads in the right direction this time they were confronted by the sight of Jamie towering over them in his blue pyjamas, completely off set by the bright pink fluffy dressing gown he had nicked of Chelle in their first week. Unable to think clearly they glanced at each other for a brief moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

Exasperated Jamie pulled Sophie upright as the other three joined him, 'Get that one inside' He grumbled half heartedly. Mike and Marc carried Sophie as Jamie and Chelle pulled Sian with them.

Mike and Marc took one look at Jamie's face after depositing Sophie on the settee, making sure she wasn't falling over before scarpering as fast as they could.

Jamie put on his best headmaster head and spoke sternly, 'So you want to tell me what happened?'

'I came back and we decided to go for a drink to celebrate.' Sian began.

'We went to Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem. Oldest pub in the country apparently' The brunette added.

'Even you'd knock your head on the ceiling there!' Sian started giggling again, happy she'd managed to get a sly dig in about Jamie's height, knowing how sensitive he was about it.

With her girlfriend once again unable to continue, Sophie took over for her, 'We met some locals and ended up on a pub crawl, we went to The Angel and The Bell, you know on the Market Square.'

'The Angel was in the Lace Market.' Sian resurfaced just long enough to speak before spotting Jamie again and dissolving into peals of laughter.

'Then we went to this punk pub called Foreman's'

'It was tiny. And yellow.'

'But we didn't like it in there so we went to The Slug and Lettuce.'

'But it was expensive'

'So we went back to Foremans'

'Then we went to Pit And Pendulum.'

'And we had their sin shot cocktails list.

'Then their saints shot cocktails list.

'Then we went to Reflex.'

'Then to Flares.'

'We like Flares, I got deely boppers'

'But then we lost them in the Arboretum'

'Why were we in the Arboretum?'

Sian shrugged. If there had been a reason she didn't know it. Or care. All she cared about was the girl next to her who had just adjusted her position so she was now leaning against her shoulder. Leaning down she dropped a smacker on lips that were already just as asleep as the rest of her. 'We already know you know so don't be surprised' she muttered before joining her girlfriend in blissful slumber.

Realisation dawned on Jamie's face at that exact second, 'Oh you played me, I am going to get you back for this.' He grinned as Sophie turned and spoke in her sleep.

'I know.'

* * *

**By the way, the song is Decembers by Hawthorne Heights. It's not a song that the characters would really listen toI know but whenever I do** **I can't help but think of these two and it was playing while I was writing so I couldn't resist putting it in!**


End file.
